It's Called a Surprise, Sweetheart
by BeecroftA
Summary: After Nick finds out Judy is planning a surprise birthday party for him, an unusual plan B is concocted. Partially inspired by a classic episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show. Cover art by HyenaTig
1. Flashback 1

_Zootopia Police Academy, 51 weeks and 4 days ago…_

* * *

"You sure you don't want to stick around, Nick? We've still got half a cake left!"

"No thanks Tony, never liked cake much." Nick replied. That was a half-truth, Nick only disliked sheet cake; homemade cakes were another story. His tiger friend shrugged.

"Suit yourself then. Night pal!" called Tony before he disappeared back into the fray.

"Goodnight." said Nick as he headed down the hall for his dormitory.

It was a Friday night at Zootopia Police Academy, just over a month into Nick's stint as an officer-in-training. Their instructor Major Friedkin had taken the full weekend off, giving Nick and the other trainees two whole days to rest up, catch up on their studies, and rest some more. And of course, throw a party. The fact that one of them, an elephant named Stevens, happened to have a birthday that day was just icing on the cake, no pun intended. Somebody had gone into town and brought back two sheet cakes and several bottles of cheap champagne, and by now everybody was having a whale of a time. While the cat was away the mice were playing, however outdated that expression was. Nick, however, had decided to retire early, not being much of a drinker or party animal.

Nick entered his dorm and closed the door behind him, but he could still hear ambient party noises in the background; it sounded like Stevens was challenging Hathi (another elephant) to a champagne chugging contest. He shimmied up the ladder to his bunk and collapsed on the oversized mattress that was his bed for the next six months. It might have been just right for a wolf, but for a half-pint fox like him it was like a king-sized bed; he could stretch out all the way and only the tip of his tail could touch the end of the bunk. It may have been lumpy and still smelled a little like wolf, but it was definitely better than the army cot he used back at home. A small perk of being the smallest cadet at the Zootopia Police academy. He had sublet his basement suite to Finnick and a couple of his friends for the duration of his stay, and could only hope he didn't come to regret that decision. As a precaution, he had packed his few irreplaceables in a box and left it with his friend Judy for the time being.

Nick laid back in his bunk and sighed. Today was his birthday too. 32 years young. He hadn't celebrated it in years, not since the last time he had seen his mother… he shook his head. Their last confrontation was not something he liked to remember. He had said some pretty awful things to her those nine years ago. He had gone over to her apartment for a birthday dinner, and that was when she had let the ball drop that she had found out about his hustling activities. They'd had a fight, he'd walked out, and every year since then they had not spoken and he would just ignore his birthday as much as possible, often forgetting it entirely.

It was the biggest regret of his life.

Suddenly his phone gave a buzz. Startled out of his reverie Nick pulled it out and looked at the screen, and saw it was a text from Judy:

 _Hey! Sorry, you still up? I got some news._

Feeling his mood brighten a little Nick pressed _call_ and soon the face of his favorite bunny appeared on the screen: "Hey Carrots, what's up?"

"Hi Nick!" proclaimed the cheery rabbit on the other end. "Sorry to be calling so late, but-"

She suddenly paused and frowned, her ears swivelling. " _Heeey_ … are those party sounds I hear on your end?"

Nick smirked; sometimes he forgot about the amazing hearing capabilities of bunny ears. "Yep, our illustrious instructor is away for the weekend and one of my fellow cadets is having a birthday, so the others decided to put two together and throw him a party."

There was suddenly a loud THUMP somewhere in the distance, followed by cheering, and then an enormous belch, and then uproarious laughter. "And it sounds like Hathi just won the champagne chugging contest."

"A _birthday_ party?" Judy scoffed in false indignation, "I had a birthday while I was at the academy, and nobody threw ME a party! Ah well, we bunnies don't really do birthday parties anyway. I mean, can you imagine with a big family like mine? We'd be having parties every day. That's a lot of carrot cake."

 _Carrot cake. Of course._ Nick chuckled at the thought, but found he wasn't in the mood for cracking a joke about that. "Okaaay… so what's this news you bring me?"

Judy positively glowed. "Well, I was working overtime today, that's why I'm calling so late, and I got a chance to talk with Chief Bogo. And he said he's been in touch with somebody at the academy, who said your grades so far have been the best in your class! _Congratulations,_ Nick! Bogo said if this keeps up you're a shoo-in for Precinct One, and he'll definitely partner us up! _Top of your class_ , I knew you could do it!"

Nick was definitely glad to hear that, but try as he might, he didn't feel like blowing his own horn right now. So instead he simply murmured:

"Thanks Carrots, I knew I could do it too."

Judy looked taken aback. "That's all you have to say? 'I knew I could do it too'? Nick, are you feeling alright?"

Nick startled, and then deflected: "I'm fine, I'm just surprised Chief Buffalo-Butt actually used words like 'shoo-in'."

"Okay, his exact words were 'I'll consider it', but for him that's like saying you're a shoo-in," Judy replied, "Are you sure you're alright? You seem distant tonight."

"Of course, couldn't be better, what gives you that idea?" Nick responded with his most sincere expression.

Judy wasn't buying it. "Nick, you're alone in your dormitory while there's a party going on next door, you barely patted yourself on the back when I said you had the best grades in your class, and you didn't even crack a joke when I mentioned carrot cake. Is something on your mind? You know I'm always willing to listen."

"Well…" Nick sighed, and considered telling her what day it was, but decided to give her something else instead: "The truth is, Carrots, I am on board with this whole becoming-a-cop thing, really I am, but, there's still this little part of me that believes it's never going to happen."

Judy tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I'm a fox, Carrots. And as such, I'm used to being scorned and rejected, never getting what I want. I mean, you know what happened the first time I tried something like this."

Judy nodded, recalling the tale of the junior ranger scouts he had told her on the gondola in the Rain Forest district.

"And now I've been here a month, and the people actually like me. They respect me, they even treated me like a hero when I first got here, and that felt weird. Some part of me still worries this is all some giant prank, or some other crisis will happen and I won't become a cop after all. I know that's stupid, but old habits, they die hard."

It wasn't a lie, Nick really did feel this way sometimes; it was just something he would have kept to himself had he not been put on the spot. Judy gazed off for a second, digesting this rare show of vulnerability. But when she answered, it was with the greatest amount of warmth and sincerity she could muster: "Nick, I once said you'd make a pretty good cop, and I meant it, and now I think you'll be great. And with any luck, you'll get to make this city a better place for other foxes as well. It'll happen, you'll see."

She leaned in closer, "I promise."

Then Nick heard a beeping on Judy's end. Judy looked at her screen and frowned. "Sorry Nick, my parents are calling, I better take this. Could be about my sister and her new litter. I'll call you back tomorrow. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Carrots." And they both hung up.

Nick stared at his phone for a few seconds more, and then set it down and stretched, hearing the tendons in his joints cracking. He had wanted to tell Judy what was really on his mind, but there was no sense in opening up that can of worms. He loved that rabbit, but bringing up his birthday might lead to her probing about his family, which would lead to his mother, and that was not a story he cared to share with her. Not now.

A childish idea suddenly came to him. Sitting up, and listening out to make sure nobody was coming to walk in anytime soon, Nick leaned way over the side of his bunk and scooped a tiger-patterned cigarette lighter off his bunkmate's bedside table. He mentally shook his head at it – if Hobbson really wanted to pass the physical exam and become a cop he would have to give up smoking. Nick laid back in his bunk and turned the oversized lighter over in his paw a few times, and then flicked it on. A small golden flame illuminated the room.

"I wish…" He whispered, "…I wish becoming a cop will work out."

 _And then maybe I can find Mom, show her my new uniform, and tell her how sorry I am_.

And he blew the candle out.


	2. Chapter 1

**I would like to thank PizzaSteve3902, DrummerMax64, Guest, Aninat131, HawkTooth, RemyW, PotterHead13, Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps and Guest for their reviews of "Movie Night"! And if you haven't read that story, I definitely recommend reading it first b/c this story directly follows it. There will be two chapters per update for this piece – one flashback, then the main event. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading!**

* * *

 _Precinct One – Savannah Central, Present Day:_

* * *

" _Yawwwnn..."_

Nick yawned loudly as he sat in his cubicle. Despite it being mid-afternoon, he still felt as tired as he had early that morning. Normally he wasn't one for mornings anyway being nocturnal, but twice this past week (including today) Chief Bogo had called in all officers in for early-morning briefings over a new gang that had been active in Savannah Central lately. Sitting working on this dull paperwork didn't help either, being bored always made Nick sleepy.

Even if he had only an hour to go in his shift, he needed coffee, and the closest source he knew of was the pot they kept in the breakroom. He stood up, stretched, and leaned over the front of his cubicle towards his partner Judy's.

"Hey Carrots, you want any coff-"

But she wasn't there. Nothing was at her desk except a stack of filled-out reports and the usual pictures of her family. That was odd, he hadn't even heard her leave. He'd thought he'd heard her phone buzz a few minutes before, but he hadn't thought anything of that.

Reasoning she was probably in the bathroom or something, Nick left his cubicle and trudged off towards the breakroom. But as he walked, Nick added this little disappearance to a growing mental list he was keeping. Judy had been acting rather strange lately, ever since that night they'd watched _Robin Hood_ together. She'd been distinctly quiet during their past few patrols, during which she was usually a bundle of energy; she'd cancelled two after-work outings with him, he'd seen her texting at work, which she almost never did, and at least once he'd walked in on her talking on the phone only for her to hang up the instant she saw him. Something was going on with that bunny, but what?

When Nick entered the breakroom, to his chagrin, he found the small-sized coffee pot completely empty. Grumbling to himself he opened the cupboard under the counter to look for more coffee mix, but came up empty-pawed. Now positively snarling he stole out of the room and down the hallway, aiming for the front door and from there the Snarlbucks across the street. Maybe he could snitch a doughnut from Clawhauser on the way out. He was just about to turn a corner into the lobby when he heard a voice:

"…sure this will work, Judy?"

Nick's ears perked up.

"Sure I'm sure. Nick may a sly fox, but he's really not that hard to fool. I did hustle him once, you know."

It was Clawhauser and Judy, talking at the reception desk about _him_. Rankling at that last statement and interested to know more Nick hugged the corner and listened from out of their line of sight as best he could:

"But what if he does know and he's just hiding it?" Clawhauser asked.

"Believe me, if he did, he would be rubbing it in my face," Judy replied, "All you've got to do is keep this secret just a little longer. You can do that, can't you?"

Clawhauser raised his right paw and crossed his heart with his left. "Don't worry Judy, your secret is safe with me, just like with Liza Spotley!"

Nick mouthed Judy's words just as she spoke them: "Who's Liza Spotley?"

"She was my best friend back in high school, and this one time she was seeing two different cheetahs at once, and she told me and I kept her secret even though one of the guys she was seeing was my own cousin!"

" _Cheetah was a cheatah_ …" Nick muttered under his breath.

"Well, that's encouraging to hear," Judy commented before taking a swig from a bottle of water she was carrying. "I'll level with you Clawhauser, this whole thing has been a lot harder than I thought. We bunnies don't do this often you know - I hope it's all worth it in the end. You know, all this sneaking around just for a few _seconds_ of excitement."

Nick's jaw dropped, and he leaned in closer. Just then, Judy choked on her water and coughed, and Nick missed Clawhauser's next question. Judy's response, however, confused the fox even further:

"*Cough*, sorry, Finnick? Oh, he's all for it. He's game for anything that gives him a chance to pull one over on Nick."

Clawhauser didn't look convinced. "I remember meeting him; never would've thought he'd be into something like this."

"That's because he tried to throttle you because you thought he was a lost little boy," replied Judy. Nick stifled a snort, recalling an incident when he'd invited Finnick to visit him at the station. "…Believe me, Finnick may put up a tough exterior, but he's actually kind of sweet once you get to know him."

Nick's eyes popped in his head. It couldn't be… _Carrots and FINNICK?_

 _BOOP! BOOP!_

Nick nearly jumped out of his fur, before realizing it was just the alarm on Clawhauser's dispatch microphone. The cheetah was prone to distraction, so he kept the beeper at the highest setting to make sure he didn't miss it. He picked up the mike:

"I'm sorry Judy, I gotta take this."

"It's okay, I better go – Nick might notice I'm gone soon. Later!"

Panicking, Nick whipped around and took off like a shot, scurrying down the hall and back into his cubicle just in time before Judy crept back into the area. Nick peeped past the edge of his cubicle as best he could, and saw the rabbit creeping down the hall in his direction, walking slowly on the balls of her feet as if hoping not to be noticed. He waited until she was about to walk into her cubicle before he stood up and spoke:

"Hey Carrots, what's up?"

"BWA!" the rabbit jumped, "Uh, nothing! I was just… refilling my water bottle." She shook the bottle she was carrying for emphasis, which was hardly convincing since it was only half-full. Nick decided not to mention the little conversation he had just overheard, and instead probe lightly for now.

"Okayyy… but isn't the filling station back THAT way?" Nick pointed back behind him, the opposite way Judy had just come from. The bunny nodded, slowly.

"It is… but the one in the lobby has MUCH better water! Have you ever noticed? I swear they treat the visitors here better than they treat us officers. Welp, better get busy!" The bunny hopped back in her chair and started scribbling at random on her report sheets, clearly wanting this line of questioning to end.

"Uh… okay." And another item was added to Nick's mental list. He sat down for a second, and then he got right up again. "I was going to ask if you wanted any coffee, but it looks like you've had enough already."

"Yes! Yes, I have!" Judy declared. "In at six this morning, boy, I must've had three cups today!"

And another item: Nick hadn't seen Judy with a cup of coffee all day. She rarely even drank the stuff.

"As long as it wasn't Red Bull…." The fox uttered with a grin, hoping to put her at ease with a little humor.

"Ha ha, yeah, I wish my mother had never mentioned that story." Judy muttered. She neatly straightened the papers on her desk, tucked them in folders, and then tucked the folders under her arm. "There! That's all my reports done for today, so I think maybe I'll check out a little early. Later Nick!" She scampered off before Nick could even answer.

"Uhhh, later?" Nick slumped in his seat. And yet another item for the list. Never before had he known that bunny to leave work early. Once, he had heard, she finished all her paperwork with an hour still to go so she spent the remaining time helping a janitor wash the windows before clocking out.

He mulled over Judy and Clawhauser's conversation in his head. It had _sounded_ for a second like Carrots and Finnick were having some kind of secret relationship, but looking back on some of the other things spoken between her and Clawhauser it didn't seem to fit, never mind how laughable the very idea was. Whatever that rabbit was hiding, she had implied that she was planning on telling him soon, but Nick intended on getting to the bottom of this before then. Not hard to fool, his fluffy tail!


	3. Flashback 2

**Warning: potentially tear-jerking chapter ahead. If you do not wish to read, skip to the last section, for it is the most important part.**

* * *

 _Mrs. Wilde's apartment, 9 years, 51 weeks and 5 days ago:_

* * *

"Please, stop it Nicholas. I know you've been lying to me, and I know what you've really been doing."

It was Nick's twenty-third birthday, and he had gone over to his mother's apartment for a birthday dinner. While waiting to start on dessert she had turned the conversation to what he did for a living, for which he had prepared a decent cover story as usual, or so he thought.

"I don't know what you mean, Mom. I'm a salesmammal, I-"

"I was cleaning house this morning for your arrival, and while vacuuming through your old room I found _this_ ," Mrs. Wilde slammed an old, dusty notebook on the counter in front of her, "hidden under a loose section of carpet."

Nick felt the blood drain from his face as he recognized the thing: he had written in it during his early hustling days when he was twelve, and one day had hidden it in his room and eventually forgotten about it. His mother flipped open the book and started running her finger down the first page.

"This first page is about sodas: I see written here a list of different brands and sizes, calculations of how much they would cost if purchased in bulk, and totals of how much money would be made if they were resold at school," she raised an eyebrow, her green eyes surveying her son, "I seem to remember a period when you were in junior high and you seemed happy that they had removed the vending machines."

She flipped the page.

"Next, same thing for chip bags and candy bars." She flipped some more pages. "And for pencils, pens and bottles of musk-mask too…"

Nick leapt to his defense. "I did that when I was twelve, Mom. Back when you lost your job at the movie theater, and we were in danger of getting evicted. I was just trying to make money so we could keep our home."

"That was my responsibility Nicky, not yours. And as I recall, back when you handed me a stack of cash saying it for the rent, you told me you got a part-time job washing dishes. But now that I think about it, you never did mention where exactly."

Nick shuffled guiltily. "Okay, I admit: I sold sodas and school supplies out of my locker in junior high and I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd be happy that I might've broken a couple school rules doing it." He said, "Can we please talk about this some other time, and just enjoy my birthday now?"

But Mrs. Wilde wasn't done; she flipped some more pages. "I see a number of other things written in here as well: 'Blind Beggar act', 'Dime-and-Pin' raffle, cutting up elephant blankets into rodent-sized ones, something called paw-psicles…"

Nick's heart dropped into his stomach. "Those were… just ideas. I never did any of them."

 _When I was twelve._ He thought.

His mother looked up at him. "And ever since you finished high school and moved out, I've barely seen you. You come over maybe twice a year, rarely call, and automatically dodge and deflect any questions I have about college or what you do for a living!"

Nick said nothing, so Mrs. Wilde continued: "Last month, my friend Maria was downtown, and she saw a fox that looked just like you in an alley, exchanging money with a shady-looking skunk. I told her it couldn't possibly be you, my son is no criminal." She slammed the notebook shut, her eyes pleading at him. "That really was you, wasn't it?"

Nick opened his mouth, tried to give an answer, and gulped it down. He couldn't do it. Not one more lie. So instead he just shrugged, lifted his paws, and slapped them down against his sides in defeat. His mother's eyes widened at this confirmation.

"Nicky, I, I just…" Mrs. Wilde swooned, reeling in shock. …" _Why?_ Why have you chosen this life, _why…"_ she moved over to the dining table where she had set out dessert and collapsed into her chair, eyes gazing up at him begging for understanding. "Why did you lie to me?"

Feeling a flush of remorse Nick moved over another chair and sat with paws folded, facing her. "Because you never would have understood, Mom."

"Well, try me now, son. Cards on the table: what are you?"

Nick sighed, ears drooping in shame. "It's what you think, Mom: I'm a confox. A grifter, a hustler, one of those no-goodniks you always warned me not to be. I started off doing it for you, and I found I was good at it, so I kept going. But I swear I'm not a criminal. I always make sure everything I do is legal, or at least somewhere in the grey area. I've never crossed that line."

"Then who was that skunk you were exchanging money with?" Mrs. Wilde asked.

"He was selling me…fur."

"Fur? What for?"

"…To make rugs."

"RUGS? From skunk fur? Nicky, how is _that_ not crossing the line?"

"It is in the grey area, but it is definitely legal as long as the fur is freely given."

Mrs. Wilde slapped her paws on the table, her eyes rolling with disbelief, "But WHY? You were always so bright, so talented, you could be doing so much more!"

Nick visibly stiffened. That was rich, coming from her. "Mom, nobody hires foxes for decent jobs, no matter how bright and talented they may be. You know what I'm talking about; I had no choice."

"There's ALWAYS a choice, Nicky."

"Yeah, and look at what you chose." Nick said, his voice raising all of a sudden. "Spending your life slaving away working dead-end jobs and never getting anything but flack just for what you are! Like when you were fired from the theater, remember that? The new manager didn't even wait until the old one was out the _door_ before he fired you for being a FOX!"

"Please, Nicky…" Mrs. Wilde pleaded, "This isn't the real you, I KNOW it isn't!"

"Then what IS, Mother?!" Nick shouted, "I've met so many mammals eager to share their opinions on that, I would _love_ to hear what yours is!"

"Hold on!" Mrs. Wilde got up and ran out of the kitchen. Nick started, wondering what she could possibly have to show him before she returned holding a small red bundle in her paws. She sat back down and unfolded it, revealing a long piece of crimson cloth with a distinctive pattern Nick recognized: it was the neckerchief from his old ranger scouts uniform.

"You see this?" She cried, "You remember that day, when I helped you recite your oath? You promised with all your heart to be brave, loyal, helpful and trustworthy! I haven't forgotten, Nick!"

She held the neckerchief up higher, almost in front of Nick's nose. "That's what you really are, Sweetie. That brave, big-hearted kit eager to help others and make the world a better place. My little Robin Hood."

Nick took the fabric in his paws, a spark of regret flashing in his eyes for a second, before it was replaced by anger.

"You know what happened, Mom. You know that oath was a lie; why should I follow it when none of the other scouts bothered with it?"

Mrs. Wilde started, the neckerchief clearly not having the effect she had hoped for. "Follow it to prove them wrong! Show you're better than them!"

"Yeah, that's what you told me when I was eight. But you know what – I've learned! There's no proving anything to them and you know it! All people are ever going to see is shifty low-life foxes when they look at us! Might as well just give them what they want, and maybe we can get by!"

Nick stood up in a fury, upending his chair in the process, and stormed over to the door. "If you can't accept what I am and what I do, then I have nothing more to say to you. Not now, now ever!" The door banged the wall as he yanked it open.

Mrs. Wilde stretched her paw out towards him, her face distraught. "Nicky, _please!_ "

Nick stopped, his face losing expression, but his eyes betraying how he truly felt. "I'm sorry Mom, but I'm not your little Robin Hood anymore, and I'm done pretending to be."

And without another word he stormed out of his mother's apartment, slamming the door behind him. Mrs. Wilde stood there for almost a whole minute, her vivid green eyes glazed over and her outstretched arm still frozen in place. Then she turned and collapsed into her chair, and gazed over at the cake she had baked for him on the table. It was Nick's favorite: Tasmanian Devil's Food with a ring of coffee beans and a bright red cherry on top. With a wail of grief she half-pushed, half-threw the thing away from her, the beautiful cake smashing to the floor in a mess of frosting and broken glass from the crystal plate. Feeling herself begin to break down she hunched over and buried her face in her paws, sobbing.

* * *

Nick trudged out into the streets, where it had begun to rain. As water began soaking his shirt and fur he looked back at the building, the very one he had grown up in, and angry, bubbling shame began to fill his heart. _She'll never understand…_

His phone started ringing in his pocket. Nick pulled it out, and was not surprised when he saw his mother's name on the screen. He flipped it open, and his thumb wavered over the green _accept_ button for a second, before it shifted over and hit _end_ instead.

That was it. Ten years of lies, omissions and half-truths had finally come to a head, and as he predicted, it had finally destroyed his relationship with his one and only close relative. _Never let them see they get to you…_ that had been his mantra since he was eight years old, but in the face of his mother that well-honed mask had shattered, and it had all come pouring out. _Never again,_ he vowed.

As Nick tucked his phone into his pocket, it was then that he finally noticed: the red neckerchief was still in his other paw. He gripped the fabric tightly and steeled for a moment, ready to tear it in half and throw the pieces away. But then he stopped, and stuffed it into his other pocket instead as he started walking for home, rain still bearing down on him.

* * *

 _Nick's basement suite, 1 year and 6 weeks ago:_

* * *

Nick pulled the old, now-wrinkled red neckerchief out of his pocket and contemplated it for a moment, grateful to Judy for cleaning and returning it after he had used it to bandage her leg at the museum. Then he folded it, and put in in a small storage box atop a little pile of other paraphernalia: a necktie that had belonged to his father, an old book with _Robin Hood_ emblazoned on the spine, assorted documents, an envelope filled with emergency cash, two school medals for being part of the track team, some old birthday and Christmas cards, and a framed photo of his mother holding him when he was a newborn kit; he had lost any more recent photos of her when his old cell phone had died.

"You ready to go, Nick?" Judy Hopps called out from the kitchen.

"Coming!" Nick grabbed two folded Pawaiian shirts, put them on top of the other knick-knacks, and closed the lid on the box. Then he picked it up from the bed along with his packed duffel bag, and carried both out to the kitchen where Judy was waiting by the door to drive him to the Zootopia Police academy.

"What's in the box?" she asked. Nick glanced down at it.

"Oh, just shirts and stuff I don't want to go missing while Finnick and his buddies are living here," Nick lifted the lid and showed Judy the shirts inside. "Any chance I could stash this at your place while I'm away?"

"Sure, no problem!" Judy took the box from him and turned around to get the door, the contents inside faintly rattling as she did so. The rabbit paused a little and her ears perked up with curiosity, and Nick mentally wished he had put a lock on the box. Even though it was only mementos inside he didn't fancy Judy going through his things and finding questions to ask.

"Promise you won't open it?" he asked in the lightest tone possible.

"Promise!" said Judy, clearly still curious but now honor-bound not to peek.

* * *

 **If anyone cried, sorry about that! This chapter was necessary, and it's all uphill from here, promise! Or is that downhill? The two seem to be interchangeable.**


	4. Chapter 2

**I would like to thank** **Aeshna Lacrymosa, PizzaSteve3902, DrummerMax64, Dominic-G and Cimar of Turalis-WildeHopps for their review of the first two chapters of this story! And to my friend and creative consultant Aninat131, congratulations on finishing your midterms!**

* * *

 _Zootopia, Savannah Central, Present Day:_

* * *

It was the morning after Nick had overheard Judy talking with Clawhauser, and so far Nick was no closer to getting to the bottom of the case. Texts he had sent to the rabbit last night had gone unanswered, and Clawhauser had left for the day before Nick so he hadn't gotten a chance to talk to the cheetah. Part of him had considered just dropping in on either of them and asking outright, but the sly fox in him demanded he figure this out himself and prove he was not so easy to fool. So this morning he was going to Judy's apartment with the intent of dropping by and walking to work with her, hoping to dig for answers along the way. He walked up the steps to her building, reaching the front door just in time before it opened and Judy's neighbors walked out; Nick exchanged awkward glances with the oryx and the kudu before entering. He crept up the stairs to the second floor where she resided, first door on the right, and that was when he heard Judy's voice:

"Did you ever do anything like this with Emmitt?"

" _I tried once, early in our marriage, but Emmitt suspected something so I dropped it."_

Nick's ears perked up. Another eavesdropping opportunity? He would have been a fool to miss it; bless those paper-thin walls at the Grand Pangolin Arms building. It sounded like Judy was video-chatting with Mrs. Otterton. Not wanting the rabbit to hear him he crouched down on the stair, listening intently and moving as little as possible.

"Well, I think Nick may suspect something here."

" _What makes you think so, dear?"_

"Well you see, yesterday I was talking to Clawhauser, and I thought I heard someone running in the hallway as I walked back to my cubicle. And then when I got back Nick kept asking questions and I got all flustered and now I think he may have been listening in. I don't know for sure, I'll just have to see how he acts later."

" _Could it have been just your imagination?"_

Nick shook his head.

"I guess it's possible. Honestly Mrs. Otterton, I'm beginning to feel sorry I started this whole thing. I almost wish I could stop now but I can't – I've put too much into this already."

Nick strained his neck trying to get in closer, the big reveal sounded seconds away…

"I tell you, it is the hardest thing in the world to give somebody a _surprise birthday party!_ "

Nick's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened as dawning comprehension spread across his face. Of course… In two days it was his thirty-third birthday! He was so used to ignoring it every year he hadn't even thought of that! He didn't know how Judy had found out when his birthday was, but he had a slight suspicion. He kept listening:

"I mean, all the guests, all those work schedules to work with, it's been impossible to get everyone I wanted, especially on such short notice. This is why we bunnies hardly ever do this sort of thing."

 _So THAT'S what she was talking about yesterday!_ Nick thought, a smile growing on his face.

"Why am I doing it? Well, this'll be the first birthday I've ever celebrated with Nick, and anything else I can give him would wear out or get thrown away eventually, and if I can pull this off I'll be giving him something that'll last him a long, long time."

" _Indigestion?"_ asked Mrs. Otterton.

Nick silently laughed behind the door.

" _Nooo…_ Memory!" said Judy. "So shoot me, I'm a sentimentalist."

Behind her wall, Nick shot a pretend gun at her.

"Anyway, I'm really sorry to hear you and Emmitt can't make it either."

" _I'm sorry too Judy, but I hope he'll at least love the present I've made for him."_

 _Presents too?_ Nick felt the smile on his face stretch even further.

"Oh, I'm sure he will. Listen, I'd better hang up now, I have to leave for work. Bye!"

Nick quickly straightened up, turned around and crept back down the stairs as quietly as he could. Passing through the lobby he exited out the front door and made a break for the nearby subway station. If Judy found him loitering around her apartment right when she was having another incriminating conversation she might get suspicious. _A surprise birthday party!_ He was almost beside himself with glee. Once he was down in the station waiting on the platform for his train he weighed his options: now that he knew he was having a surprise party should he just go along with it and act all surprised when the moment came, or should he tease his knowledge and use it to mess with that bunny's head?

He smiled smugly. Definitely option B.

* * *

"You're sure chipper this morning, Nick." said Judy, "That must have been some cup of coffee you had earlier."

Ever since Nick had overheard Judy talking to Mrs. Otterton, he had looked and felt like the cat that swallowed the canary. He had stopped at Tim Howlton's on the way to work and greeted Judy and Clawhauser in the lobby with a box of timbits (little doughnut balls) and cups of their finest coffee (tea for Judy). When they were at briefing he had made none of his usual wisecracks to the chief but simply sat there at attention, beaming, and when Bogo had announced their day's assignment of patrolling Savannah Central (patrol being second only to parking duty for boring assignments) he had accepted the task without a single gripe. As they left the bullpen, Judy was sure she had seen the chief pinching himself. And now, in the car on patrol, he was the perfect model officer.

"Oh, just woke up in a very hopeful mood this morning, Carrots," he replied, "Feel like good things are coming."

As he predicted, Judy looked pleased with this statement, but also a little confused by how out-of-character it sounded coming from him.

And then something caught Nick's eye, and he squinted down the street ahead of them. "Hey, isn't that Max the drummer over there?"

Judy squinted her own eyes: in the distance she could see what looked like a raccoon with pale brown fur sitting on the sidewalk, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans and drumming vigorously on a drum set outside a slightly graffitied building. As they got closer she recognized a distinctly bushy tail with rings of brown, black and tan around it.

"By golly, it is!" she exclaimed. "Want to stop by and say hello?"

"Yeah, we haven't seen him in ages!" said Nick. "And I've been dying to ask if he's related to that actor from _Robin Hood_."

Judy parked the car and the two got out, the rhythmic sounds of a drum solo meeting their ears.

As they walked up Judy could see the only real pieces in Max's set were a snare drum, a bass drum and a cymbal; the rest were different-sized colored buckets and even a couple of garbage can lids perched on boxes. Nonetheless, the Torch Key raccoon performed with as much speed and finesse as if it were a real drum set and he was playing in a band instead of out on the street. And in front of him was a small blue box with a smiley face drawn on the front, along with a sign that read _Donate Pls!_ Judy didn't know the name of the beat Max was playing, but she vaguely recognized it from a movie about an aspiring drummer she had once seen called _Whiplash_.

"Hey, Maximus!" Nick called out.

The raccoon looked up, recognizing them with a smile, and paused his playing. "Officer Wilde, Officer Hopps, what brings you here?"

"Oh, we were in the neighborhood, just thought we'd drop by and see how our favorite busker is doing."

"Hi Max." Judy waved.

Max waved back. "Hey, weren't you guys on ZooTube recently? It looked like you were chasing him-"

"No, that was another fox and rabbit." Judy said quickly, avoiding his gaze. Nick snickered at her. "So how's it going?" he asked, "We haven't seen you around in over a month."

Max's smile faded, and his ears drooped. "Well, long story short, I got a job playing drums in a nightclub but got fired."

"A talented guy like you? No way!" Nick bemoaned.

"What happened?" Judy asked.

The raccoon fiddled with his sticks, mulling over his answer before he spoke: "Last month, I got hired at this place called "Bella Notte", it's a nightclub down in the Nocturnal District-"

"Wouldn't they just call it a 'club' down there?" Nick asked.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" said Max. "But no. Anyway, it worked out well for a while, you know, I'm a raccoon so I got good night vision, but I didn't grow up in that district so I wasn't used to the constant nighttime, so I started getting sleepy all the time and, well..."

"You fell asleep during a performance?" Judy asked.

" _Err_ , yes and no. You see, I think I got some kind of narcolepsy or something because towards the end I found myself dozing off at random times. And one night, or maybe it was day, during a performance there was a break in the song for a trumpet solo and I started nodding off, then before I knew it it was my cue and I jumped back in and hammered out the finale and in the heat of the moment I threw my arms out and… kinda let go of my sticks."

"Oh _no_ …" said Judy, covering her mouth. Max nodded.

"Yep, almost knocked my boss's front teeth out."

"Tough break, buddy." said Nick.

Max shrugged. "It's okay, the old badger wasn't fun to work for anyway. And I got fired just before I was set to move into a new place, and I couldn't go back to my old apartment so for now I'm just working the street again and livin' with my grandpop until I find another job."

"I see..." said Nick thoughtfully. "Y'know, the other day Officer Carrots and I watched this old movie version of Robin Hood, and one of the characters was a minstrel that looked _a lot_ like you. Like, the spitting image. And the credits said the actor's name was one Roger Thrash. That wouldn't have been your grandpop, would it?"

Max's face lit up. "Yeah, that's him! He's told me all about that, he said working on that movie was one of the best times of his life!"

"Well, next time you see him, do tell him I'm a big fan, would you?" asked Nick. Then he cheerfully pulled out his money clip, removed a ten zoodollar bill and tossed it into Max's box. The raccoon smiled in gratitude. "Thanks! Can I play you a request?"

Nick shook his head. "We'd better take a raincheck pal, Officer Carrots and I have to get back to work."

"Yes, we'd better," said Judy, tucking a five zoodollar bill of her own in the box and, unnoticed by Nick and Max, tucking her carrot pen and a post-it-note pad into her belt with her other paw. Waving goodbye to the brown raccoon they started back for their vehicle.

"Any chance you could help him, Nick?" Judy asked. "You claim to know everybody – maybe you know somebody who could give him a job, or at least an audition?"

Nick hummed thoughtfully. "I know some folks in the business, I'll shake some trees, see what comes up. Or should I say, down."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Max found himself getting hungry. Spying a bug-burrito stand across the street he laid down his drumsticks and started digging through his cash box for the necessary change. His black fingers brushed against the fiver left by Officer Hopps and that was when he noticed: there was a pink post-it-note attached to the back of it. Max turned it over and found a message on it:

 _We might have a job for you. If you're interested, call this number. J. Hopps._

There was a phone number underneath. Max dug out his cellphone and, after a small amount of hesitation, dialled the number. If this was coming from the famous Judy Hopps, chances seemed good it was safe. " _Hello?"_ a female voice answered.

"Uh, hi," said Max, "This is Max Thrash, Officer Hopps left me a note, said you might have a job for me?"

" _Oh yes!"_ Said the voice on the other end, _"Officer Hopps texted me about you earlier. I'm so glad she was able to find you, we were hoping you might be able to help us set up a special surprise for Officer Wilde. It's his birthday soon, you see._ "

Max's eyebrows shot in confusion; that was not the answer he had expected at all. Intrigued now he nodded even though the person at the other end couldn't see him:

"Sure, I'll do what I can. Whatever that is."

" _That's wonderful to hear, dear_ ," said the voice, " _Now, about this grandfather of yours…_ "

* * *

 **For those of you who don't know, the character of Max Thrash belongs to DrummerMax64, who is easily one of the nicest guys (and best reviewers) in this or any other fandom. If you're ever looking for a good laugh I suggest checking out his story "Fluffy and Scruffy". Also, the whole set-up with Max busking on the sidewalk and Nick and Judy meeting him was directly inspired by his commission "Aspire" by Ruffu on deviantart. Fantastic piece I think it is. As for who that was on the phone, well, you may all have your guesses. :)**


	5. Flashback 3

_Meadowlands, seven months ago…_

* * *

Judy stood in front of the old brick apartment building in the Meadowlands district. It was small, only four stories high, and the mammals she had seen entering and leaving the building over the past ten minutes seemed to suggest it was primarily rented by predators, although Judy had also noticed a small elephant in a window on the first floor. She had stood outside that building for almost ten minutes now, uncertain even now if she was doing the right thing. If her guess was right, this was where Nick's mother lived. Judy still did not know anything about Mrs. Wilde, having been unable to ask Nick anything about her once she had realized her existence. She had no clue what Nick's and his mother's relationship was like; for all she knew Nick and his mother were still close and Mrs. Wilde already knew her son was going to become a cop, but Judy didn't think so somehow. The only picture of Nick's mother in his box had to be taken at least thirty years before, and the lack of more recent photos there or anywhere in his basement suite seemed to suggest they had been separated, likely estranged, for some time. However, there was also no obituary or anything like that in Nick's box, which Judy took as a hopeful sign that his mother was still alive. In any case, this was her only lead. Having looked through the city directory (which was organized by species), this building was the address of the only other fox she could find with the last name Wilde.

Finally making her decision, Judy trudged up the steps to the front door. Skirting by an old leopard couple that went out the door just as she reached it, the rabbit slipped inside. She strode through the lobby to the elevator and clicked the UP button. As she entered the elevator, her little bunny heart started pounding like mad in her chest at what she was about to do. But she had to try this. Whatever things were like between Nick and his mother, and whether or not Mrs. Wilde knew about her son's less-than-savory former activities, Judy wanted to be sure Mrs. Wilde knew what Nick was going to do with his life now. And surely she knew of her son's role in solving the Night Howler case, for that had been all over the media, even though Nick had stayed away from the cameras whenever possible for fear of repercussions from his former 'marks'. If this went south, well, she could only hope Nick would forgive her for her meddling. Sure he had forgiven her for the press conference fiasco, but this was different; this was his personal life.

The ding of the elevator jolted Judy out of her thoughts as she reached her floor, and eyeing the numbers on the doors in the hall she made her way to her target: apartment 304. But just as she reached the door and was reaching out her fist to knock, the door suddenly opened, and a fox dressed in workout clothes exited the apartment, walking right into Judy:

" _Oof!_ Oh, I'm sorry dear, I wasn't expecting-"

And then the vixen stopped as she gazed down and saw what, or who, she had just collided with. And then apparent recognition dawned across her features as she looked down into Judy's eyes. "Officer Judy Hopps?" she asked.

Judy nodded nervously. She was sure she recognized this vixen from the photo in Nick's box, although it was hard to tell since said vixen now had some grey mixed into her red fur and wore glasses unlike in the picture. "Are you…Mrs. Wilde?"

"I am."

"…Nick's mother?"

" _Yes!_ " Mrs. Wilde nodded. She spoke this with a great deal of emotion; something told Judy she had been anticipating this meeting for a long time. The vixen then stuck her head out of the doorway and peered back and forth down the hallway, as if expecting somebody else to be there. But when no one else appeared, her face seemed to fall.

"Forgive me; I hoped Nicky might be with you. Do you know where he is now?" she asked.

"Yes, he's…" Judy paused when she realized Mrs. Wilde didn't know about Nick becoming a police officer yet, "He's out of town for a while, he'll be back in a few days."

"I see." said the vixen, still looking a little nonplussed. But then she looked down at Judy again and put on a smile. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? Please, come in, come in!"

And she stood aside and gestured Judy inside. Judy entered, mostly pleased with Mrs. Wilde's reaction to her but still with a small amount of trepidation.

As they passed the hallway to the living room, Judy felt a strong rush of déjà vu: the wallpaper in the hall was light green with a pattern of fern-like leaves, reminiscent of Nick's classic Pawaiian shirt. She idly wondered whether or not that shirt pattern was a conscious decision on Nick's part. There were also a few framed pictures of Nick at various ages hung on the wall; kit Nick was absolutely precious.

The pair entered the living room and each took a seat on the couch, facing each other. For a few seconds, neither Judy nor Mrs. Wilde said anything, but simply sat there with paws folded and eyes gazing at each other, each full of questions but unsure of where to begin. Judy took a moment to study the elderly vixen: she looked to be about sixty, but had a trim build that combined with the workout clothes she was wearing indicated she was active and spry for her age. She was decidedly shorter than Nick, about halfway between him and Judy in height; her red fur was the same color as Nick's but age had added some grey to her appearance, especially in the tips of her ears, and looking down Judy could see the fur on the end of her tail was snow-white instead of brown. Her eyes were wider than Nick's and lacked the familiar half-lidded look, but they were the exact shade of vivid green his were, and despite her wearing glasses they now gave Judy the same feeling of being analyzed that Nick's sometimes did. Judy decided to start with an obvious question.

"So, you know about me and Nick and the night howler case, I take it?"

"I do indeed," said Mrs. Wilde. She picked up what looked like a photo album from the coffee table in front of them, and opened it. Pasted inside were various newspaper clippings, all with headlines about night howlers and conspiring mayors and hero cops; Judy saw several pictures of herself and some of her with Nick as well. Mrs. Wilde turned to page one, and Judy saw a front-page clipping of herself confronting Mayor Lionheart while he was being arrested at Cliffside Sanitarium. And there, in the background, was Nick, wearing his sunglasses and holding a cup of coffee. Judy had never gotten the chance to credit Nick by name for his part in tracing the missing predators to Cliffside, but he was recognizable in the photo, at least to his own mother.

On the page opposite was another clipping of Judy as she stood on the podium during that fateful press conference, looking markedly awkward as she tried to answer questions about predators going savage. Judy bristled in shame at the memory. Even when the true cause of the savage predators had been exposed, for months afterwards Judy had continued to receive angry confrontations from predators who had suffered because of her words.

"That was quite a day." said Mrs. Wilde, noting Judy's reaction.

Judy nodded, and looked up at Mrs. Wilde. "What happened to you? I mean, after that?" she asked. Mrs. Wilde sighed, and after a second of pondering answered:

"Well, I was better off than most I suppose. It's mostly predators living in this neighborhood and they all know me, so nobody was afraid I was going to go savage and attack them. But, where I work, there were some prey animals who already didn't like a fox teaching their classes, and once the rumors about savage predators started, they started lodging complaints with my boss and making false accusations. Eventually it got so bad, I lost my job."

"Oh _no!_ " cried Judy, her paws clapping to her mouth. She then lowered them, her ears drooping behind her in shame. "I'm…I'm so sorry." She said.

But then Mrs. Wilde smiled at her.

"Fortunately, thanks to you, when the truth about mayor Bellwether and the night howlers came out my boss called and offered me my old job back with a very nice raise as an apology, so no harm done." She smirked in a very Nick-like fashion, "and that tidbit on the news about a fox helping solve the case didn't hurt either, even if he didn't know it was my son."

Judy's ears perked up upon hearing that. "What do you do?" she asked.

"I teach senior aerobics. Not very lucrative maybe, but it keeps me active. I was actually on my way over to a class when we intercepted each other."

"Oh; um, would you like me to come back later?"

"Oh no, I can be late. I was actually going to get there early and work out for a few minutes before starting." She leaned forward, eyeing Judy intently. "Now tell me: why are you here? And how did you find me? Did Nicky send you?" Judy shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Nick doesn't even know I'm here," she replied. "As for how and why I'm here, well, that's a long story."

"I've got time." Said Mrs. Wilde insistently. Judy nodded, took a deep breath, and began to tell her story:

"As I said before, Nick is out of town. He actually left a few months ago, but he gave me this box of stuff to keep safe, and asked me not to open it. I put it on a shelf in my apartment, and didn't think about it for a long time. And then, two days ago I was looking for my dress blues, and while looking for the box that had them in it I accidentally knocked Nick's box off the shelf and it opened and the contents just fell everywhere."

Mrs. Wilde raised an eyebrow at her.

" _Okay_ , it wasn't _completely_ accidental. Anyway, it was a bunch of mementos and stuff inside, but there were two things that were really intriguing. One was this picture of you." She pulled a framed photo out of her bag and presented it to Mrs. Wilde. The vixen recognized the photo of herself holding Nick as a newborn kit, along with the frame, for she had given it to Nick herself when he had moved out to get his own place. "And the other…" Judy pulled out a familiar piece of red fabric and pressed it into Mrs. Wilde's paws, "Was this red handkerchief."

What happened next was a bigger reaction than Judy had ever expected. The elderly vixen gripped the fabric tightly in her paws and stared at it fixatedly as if she couldn't believe her eyes. And then, to Judy's surprise, Mrs. Wilde began to cry. Tears formed in both of her emerald eyes, and Judy could see a huge smile of pure joy and happiness spread across the vixen's face. And then as if on instinct, Mrs. Wilde threw off her glasses and began rubbing her cheek into the scarlet fabric, caressing it as if it were her most treasured possession. Judy began to tear up a little herself at the sight, and leaned over and rubbed her paw on Mrs. Wilde's shoulder in comfort. The vixen did not shake it off.

It took Mrs. Wilde a few minutes to collect herself and look at Judy again, her eyes still teary but the rest of her face beaming with elation.

" _Where…_ ( _hic_ ) where did you get this?"

"I…found it in Nick's memory box."

"I-I mean, how does it fit into all of _this_? Isn't it ( _hic_ ) just a piece of cloth to you?"

"Well, that's another long story." Said Judy.

"I've still got time." Mrs. Wilde declared. Judy nodded, and launched anew into speech:

"Okay, first off, I know about Nick and what happened to him with the Junior Ranger scouts, how they muzzled him when he tried to join them; he told me that story."

Mrs. Wilde nodded, curious to know what had compelled for her son to tell the rabbit about that in the first place, but she did not interrupt. Judy continued:

"You see, back at the museum, the day Nick and I stopped the Night Howler plot, I cut my leg and Nick used that cloth to bandage me up. And after I got my leg treated at the hospital I kept it and gave it back to him. And then, two days ago, I found it again in Nick's box. If he kept it after it had had my blood on it, I figured it must be pretty important to him. I couldn't ask Nick about it of course, because I'd promised him I wouldn't look in his treasure box. Anyway, months ago, a few days after the museum incident, I was out on the street, and I ran into a pair of Junior Ranger Scouts who tried to sell me some cookies. And I noticed, the scarves-"

"Neckerchiefs." Mrs. Wilde interrupted.

" _Neckerchiefs_ they wore around their necks looked really similar to Nick's handkerchief. Even had a pattern in the fabric just like it. But I figured it was just a coincidence, so I didn't think anything of it then. But then two days ago, when I saw the handkerchief again, I remembered, and decided to look closer. I looked at pictures of scouts online, compared their scar- _neckerchiefs_ , and realized they were indeed the same. And then I realized, he'd been keeping this piece of his uniform around all these years, even though it was a reminder of what had to be one of the worst nights of his life. Then I thought back to when he told me that story, remembered this detail about you, his mom, scraping money together to buy him a new uniform. And then I looked over at that picture of you, and it clicked. He must have kept it because of you. Nick's never told me about you, and I knew I couldn't ask him now, because that meant telling him about the neckerchief, so I looked up 'Wilde' in the city directory and at the DMV, and that's led me here, to you."

Judy stopped, and suddenly started panting; she had said all that without taking a single breath. Mrs. Wilde looked very impressed.

"That's some detective work, dear."

"Well ( _pant_ ), I did read all the Nancy Shrew books growing up."

Mrs. Wilde chuckled, and then gazed down again at the framed photo still clutched in her paw. She sighed a little, and ran her fingers over the image of herself holding newborn Nick, a sad look of longing on her face.

Judy couldn't bear it. "Mrs. Wilde, please, please forgive my asking, but I have to know," She shuffled a little closer to Mrs. Wilde, paws on her lap and her wide eyes gazing imploringly into the vixen's own: "What happened between you and Nick?"

Mrs. Wilde said nothing for a second, but instead got up, and walked out of the living room. Judy heard the sound of a drawer being opened, and then the vixen came back, and pressed what looked like a thin book into Judy's paws.

"Nine years ago, I found this in Nicky's old room."

Judy looked at it: it was an old notebook; one that looked completely innocuous. She flipped through it: on the pages she could see a series of notes, diagrams and dollar amounts. The word 'Paw-psicle' jumped out at her from one page.

"Plans." Said Mrs. Wilde, "…And ideas and figures for different hustles and money-making schemes my son came up with and used when he was in Junior High. Schemes which, I learned, he carried on doing well into todhood. Was that how you met him?"

Judy could only nod, not wanting to tell her that story now. Mrs. Wilde continued:

"I was shocked, I was angry. This explained so many things from when he was a teenager. The next day, when I saw him next, I confronted him about it. We fought, he stormed out, and I haven't seen him since."

Mrs. Wilde's face fell in sorrow, as if she were recalling the worst memory of her life. Judy placed her paw on the vixen's shoulder again.

"It-it was my fault, Judy. If I hadn't thrown it in his face, if I'd tried to be more understanding, maybe my son would still talk to me." She held up the red neckerchief. "That night, I gave him this. I tried to remind him what a good boy he was, itching to make a positive difference in the world. And now you bring it here, tell me he kept it all these years when I thought he wanted nothing to do with me…"

She clutched the neckerchief tightly to her chest.

"I want him back, Judy. So, _so_ much. I don't care if he's a hustler or grifter or whatever, I still love him. All I want is to find him, and tell him I'm sorry."

"Have you tried to find him? I mean, _really_ tried?" Judy asked.

"I did, but he cut off all contact with me. Changed his phone number, changed apartments, everything. It was like he vanished off the face of the earth. And when I finally saw him on the news months ago, I was thrilled, and took that as a hopeful sign that he might come to see me again."

Then she bowed her head with a sigh.

"But he never did. I waited for weeks, hoping he might show up at my door, maybe with you along with him. But nobody came, until you did today."

She placed a paw on Judy's knee, her green eyes pleading at the rabbit. "Could you tell me where he is now? Maybe…pass on a message for me?"

Judy startled; in the emotional roller coaster that had gone on over the past few minutes, she had completely forgotten what she had really come to see Mrs. Wilde for. A small smile began to form across her features as she reached for her bag.

"Mrs. Wilde, I may not know Nick like a book, but he is my best friend, and I think he feels the exact same way. I'm willing to bet _anything_ he blames himself too, and wants to reconcile just as much as you do. And maybe he was planning to try, after _this_."

And then she reached into her bag for a third time, and pulled out a large brown envelope. From this envelope she pulled out a heavy blue and gold card and another photo and handed them to Mrs. Wilde. The vixen's paws trembled as she took the paper, and her eyes widened as she read the imprinted text on it:

 _Announcing the Graduation of:_

 _ **Officer Nicholas P. Wilde**_

 _From Zootopia Police Academy_

 _Graduating Class of 20…_

Ms. Wilde's eyes burned with fresh tears as she stared at the announcement, and then at the photo in her other paw. It was of her son, in full dress uniform, standing proudly front and center among a group of other police cadets; one lone fox among tigers and elephants and rhinos.

"It's two days from now," Judy stated, pointing to a date and time at the bottom of the paper. "And they've asked me to do the graduation speech, that's why I was looking for my dress blues before. And I talked to my chief yesterday, it's all arranged – Nick and I are going to be partners. I'd take you to Nick right now, but he's still at the academy finishing up last-minute details. And I figure-"

But she never finished her sentence, for right then a pair of warm, strong arms swooped down and scooped Judy up in the tightest hug she had ever felt since she came to Zootopia.

" _Thank you..."_ Mrs. Wilde choked, still clutching the photo, _"Thank you."_

Judy hugged her back, feeling her heart well up with emotion as she sat there in a tearful embrace with the mother of her best friend, knowing she had just opened up the floodgates for a reconciliation between Nick and his mother. She also sensed this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between herself and the elderly vixen. Their embrace only stopped when Mrs. Wilde looked up at the clock on the wall opposite them.

"Oh gawd, I'm really late now," she croaked. She reluctantly broke apart from Judy, and wiped her eyes with the back of her paw. "I have to go, but if it's all right with you I'd like to continue this conversation very, _very_ soon."

"I'd like that very much." Said Judy, wiping her own eyes. She hadn't felt this overwhelmed since the day Nick had forgiven her under the bridge.

Mrs. Wilde then grabbed a pen and post-it note, and scribbled something on it. "Here, here's my number. Call me at noon _sharp_ , I want to hear _every_ detail of how you met my son and how you convinced him to save the city and join the police force!"

"And _I_ want to know what Nick was like as a baby!" Judy responded with a laugh.

* * *

 **I'd like to dedicate this chapter to two people: first to Kulkum, whose wonderful story "Proud" was a huge inspiration and influence for this flashback and the next. And second, to an artist name of Quirky-Middle-Child on deviantart. My original plan was for Nick's mother to simply make a short cameo in this story, but then QMC published this fantastic comic last Mother's Day that inspired me to expand the story and give her a bigger role. There will be more of Mrs. Wilde, oh my goodness yes. Thank you to both of you for your amazing work.**

 **P.S. Mrs. Wilde's apartment number refers to Zootopia's US release date: 03-04.**


	6. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'd like to thank GhostWolf88, Stubat, PizzaSteve3902, ConfusedGoatee, DrummerMax64 and Cimar of Turalis-WildeHopps for their reviews of chapters 3 and 4! And to my friend Aninat131, Happy Birthday! Well, technically his birthday's tomorrow where I am, but where he is it's today! Many Happy Returns, my friend!**

* * *

 _Savannah Central, Present Day:_

* * *

Around the same time that Max Thrash was having an interesting phone conversation, the time had come for Nick and Judy's lunch break too. Stopping at a diner they favored around Mufasa Square, they sat down at their usual booth and ordered their usual lunch: Judy a house salad, and Nick a tofu burger with a side of poutine. It was then, sitting there off-duty and awaiting their meal, that Nick decided to turn the line of conversation to birthdays.

"Did I ever tell you about my 6th birthday, Carrots?"

Judy gazed up from her phone where she had been texting from, her face looking puzzled. "Umm, no."

Nick took a sip from his mug of coffee and then leaned back, relaxing into the cushion of his seat. "It's the earliest one I can remember. We didn't exactly have parties when I was a kid, but my mom always found ways to make it fun anyway, even if it was just the two of us, but I already told you that. Anyway, when I woke up that day, I found a post-it note on my bed, with a riddle on it. Once I solved it, it led me to the mirror in the front hall, where there was another note with a riddle hidden behind it. And then I found another note, and another. Some clues were in our neighbor Rita's apartment too, and even one in the lobby of our building. When I found that one, it directed me right to my own bedroom; I was so excited I didn't even take the elevator back up, I ran up the stairs. And when I got back to my room, there was Mom, sitting on my bed with my presents in her lap. She'd set up a whole treasure hunt just for me."

He took another sip of coffee, smiling fondly at the memory. Judy, however, looked wary.

"That's a really nice story Nick, but why bring it up?"

Nick set down his cup, gazing at her. "Well, I don't know if you know, but my birthday is right around the corner, and frankly it's the first one I've looked forward to in a long time."

"Oh, is it? I mean, why?"

"Because of my mom. You know how we had a falling-out when she found out I was a confox; this'll be the first birthday I've spent with her in ten years, and it's all because of you."

Judy found herself blushing. "Aww, _g'wan_ …"

"It's true!" said Nick earnestly, "If you hadn't convinced me to become a cop, she and I may never have made amends!"

Just then, their food arrived; Nick immediately picked up his tofu burger and took a big bite out of it, ravenous. Judy, however, did not even pick up her fork.

"That's nice to hear, Nick, but I know you: you're not one to just start reminiscing at the drop of a hat like that. What's really going on?"

Nick swallowed his mouthful of burger. "Well like I said, I don't think I've ever told you my birthday before, but being the sly bunny you are I thought you might have figured it out by now. And maybe, you know, had something planned."

Judy's expression didn't change, but the inside of her ears suddenly flushed red. The fox smirked.

"You've got something planned for me, haven't you?"

Judy said nothing.

" _C'mooon_ …"

Judy still said nothing, but Nick saw her squirm a little in her seat.

" _Juuudyyy, yoo got some 'splainin' to do!_ " mooed Nick in his best Ricky Ricowdo impersonation.

Judy sighed, looking defeated. "Alright, here's the deal: I loved that story you told me about your 8th birthday, so I called up your mother after we watched _Robin Hood_ and asked when your birthday was, and she told me it was this week, and so we thought we'd do something for you. Obviously I couldn't rent out a theater, so we decided to take you out to Remy's for dinner."

This confirmed Nick's suspicion from before; he had suspected Judy had learned his birth date from his mother. "That's nice, was there anything else?"

Judy seemed to be thinking hard. "Well…we thought we'd invite some of your friends along. You know, Finnick, Flash-"

"...Clawhauser?" Nick asked.

"Sh-Sure. Clawhauser too." Judy stammered. Based on the way she broke eye contact with him then, Nick could tell she was putting two and two together and mentally confirming he had overheard her talking to Clawhauser after all. He gave her a soft smirk, as if daring her to come out and accuse him.

"Sounds good," he said, "And then after?"

"Well, then we thought we'd go back to your mom's place and have some nice homemade dessert." Judy said this very fast.

"Oh good," said Nick. Then he frowned. "Wait, just to confirm, my mom is making the dessert, right?"

"Of course, who else?" Judy asked.

"Well, to be honest I was a little afraid it might be you." Said Nick nonchalantly.

"What? You think _I_ couldn't bake you a cake?" Judy asked with indignation.

Nick raised an eyebrow. Carrots, I've seen you burn _cornflakes_."

Judy fumed at him. "You _know_ how that happened, and you know that had nothing to do with baking!"

Nick chortled at the memory. "I'm just teasing you, sweetheart. But seriously, you haven't lived until you've tried my mom's Tasmanian Devil's Food cake."

The two then fell into silence for a few minutes. Nick finished his tofu burger and started on his bowl of poutine, while Judy finally got around to starting on her salad. Before she was halfway through, however, Nick started probing again.

"So this is just a dinner then? It isn't a party? Or _maybeee_ … a surprise party?"

Judy startled. "W-What do you mean?"

"I mean the guests – are you sure there's not going to be more people at the restaurant, ready to jump up and yell surprise the minute I walk in? Or perhaps waiting at my mother's place when I go there to pick her up, or when we go back there after dinner?"

"Of course not," said Judy, "We're already inviting some of your closest friends along, isn't that enough?"

"Could be, but you're tenacious," said Nick, "And sly, and you've got my mother on your side, so I just thought there might be a little more to it than that."

"Nick, birthdays aren't a celebrated thing for rabbits," Judy replied, "When you grow up in a family of over three hundred, surprise parties are as good as impossible. Believe me, when it comes to birthdays and parties, I really am just a dumb bunny."

"You said it, not me," said Nick casually. He paused to take the last bite of cheese-and-gravy-covered fries from his bowl of poutine. Then he asked: "So it's definitely not a surprise party? Just a little dinner with friends?"

"Definitely," said Judy, digging into the remainders of her house salad with a little too much gusto. Nick just shrugged, and paused to wipe his muzzle with his napkin.

"Why not just tell me, then?" he asked.

"We've spent the past week working out the details. But I think it's all arranged now, your mother should be calling you about it sometime tonight."

"I'll be looking forward to her call, then." Said Nick.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Nick and Judy were back at the precinct, working on their end-of-day paperwork in their cubicles. Nick's mind was barely on his work at all; he kept glancing up, watching the tips of Judy's ears over the edge of her cubicle. They kept twitching and swiveling in different directions, indicating she was anxious about something. Grinning, he kept quiet and waited, eager to see what the bunny would do next. When they had only half an hour to go, Judy got up, exited her cubicle and strolled in the direction of the bathrooms. Seeing her turn the corner Nick got up and followed her, turning the corner himself just to see the female's bathroom door close. Thinking fast, Nick ducked into the male's room, knowing there was an air vent inside that connected the two bathrooms. Spying a stepstool by the door he moved it to the wall and stood on it with his ear pressed against the duct, listening for Judy's voice. He quickly heard it:

"Mrs. Wilde, Nick knows."

Nick's eyebrows shot up in intrigue. He was definitely interested to hear what role his mother was playing in all this. He continued listening:

"No, he didn't actually say it, but while we were at lunch he brought up a birthday he had when he was six, and then he kept going on about how he looks forward to this birthday because it's the first he's had with you in years, and then he started asking if I had anything like a party planned, and I tell you, the smugness coming off of him was palpable. And, _and_ –he all but confirmed he overheard me talking to Clawhauser yesterday."

Nick gave a huge nod to that, a large smirk spreading across his face. He so loved playing with that bunny's head.

"Of course I didn't tell him about the party, but he started grilling me so I told him about the dinner we were going to take him out to, and I think that's thrown him off the scent for now. But there's a problem: I had to tell him we were taking some of his friends along, to make it seem like there would be no one waiting for him at your place. Finnick, Flash and Clawhauser, those were the names I gave him. Finnick would go along with it, he loves a free meal, Clawhauser too, but I don't know about Flash. I mean, it took him the better part of four days just to answer his invite, changing plans with him now might take too long."

Nick clenched his muzzle in his paws, trying not to laugh. Judy continued:

"It should still work, he was definitely interested in going back to your place for dessert, he said your cakes are very good and he's not exactly confident in my baking... Mrs. Wilde? Mrs. Wilde, why are you laughing?"

Nick pressed the side of his face closer, this part had to be good.

"Oh, Nick told you that story, did he? NO, that had nothing to do with baking. Look, I was eating cereal in my apartment, and Nick came to the door. I had to put the bowl down to answer, but my desk was too cluttered so I put it on top of the hot plate but I'd forgotten I left it on after making tea and STOP LAUGHING MRS. WILDE!"

Next to the vent beside her, Nick doubled over trying to hold back his laughter, accidentally letting out a small snort. On the other side of the wall, one of Judy's large ears gave a distinctive twitch. The bunny was quiet for a few seconds before she spoke again:

"Okay, we'll talk more soon, but now I gotta go. If I keep Nick waiting much longer he's going to get suspicious."

With a jolt Nick got down, put the stepstool back in its place, and bolted out of the male's room, rushing down the hall and into his cubicle before Judy could see him. She didn't, she didn't even move from where she stood in the bathroom, but she didn't have to. With her ears she had had no trouble deducing who had just snickered. She put her phone back up to her ear:

"Okay, he's gone now, Mrs. Wilde. How _did_ you know he was eavesdropping again?" She listened for a few seconds, and then smiled. "...Yeah, I guess a mother does always know. Alright, what is this new plan of yours?"

* * *

 **A/N: Rita the neighbor I mentioned belongs to PullTogether, whose stories I really enjoy. This will be the last update for a couple months I'm afraid, for I've undertaken a new story for Cimar's 'What If…?' collaboration project which I'm going to be focusing on until it is finished. But when I'm done that, it's right back to this story! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Flashback 4

_Zootopia Police Academy, seven months ago…_

* * *

It was a beautiful spring day at Zootopia Police Academy. The vast immaculately-trimmed green field that normally housed the obstacle course had been cleared, and in place of the usual sandpits, ice walls and jungle gyms stood a handsomely decorated stage with blue curtains bearing the Zootopia police crest, facing a sea of white folding chairs of numerous sizes. A large crowd of animals had turned out that day for the graduation ceremony; most were already in their seats, others were still up and about making conversation with the academy graduates being honored that day. Some were friends and family of the graduates, and some were simply ordinary citizens eager to witness the history that would be made today: the first rabbit officer welcoming the first fox officer into the force.

As he stood there, nursing a coffee and gazing through his new police sunglasses at his fellow cadets mixing and mingling with the many friends and family members who come out to the ceremony, Nick Wilde himself could not help but feel a twinge of regret. It wasn't his choice to become a police officer, the prospect of that was looking better than ever; it was that his mother was not here to see this. He had almost called her several times over the last few weeks of his academy days, even once pressed _send_ before abruptly hanging up, but every time he had chickened out in the end. He wasn't ready to take that plunge yet, not until he was officially Officer Wilde and he could march right up to her door wearing his new uniform, maybe with his new partner in tow. Of course that meant opening up a whole can of worms to Judy, but he was reasonably sure the bunny would understand his regret over what had happened. He supposed his mother would like Judy; they had the same idealistic personality.

 _And speak of the bunny…_

"Hey, Carrots!" he called out.

There she was, dressed to her best in her fancy police blues, ducking and weaving her way through the crowd clearly looking for someone, most likely him. Judy's ears perked up at his voice, and she dashed up to him. Nick idly wondered why she was showing up so close to the start of the ceremony; punctuality was usually Judy's forte.

"Nick! There you are!"

"Hey, where have you been? The ceremony starts in like five minutes."

"There were…" the bunny looked nervous for some reason, "some last-minute details I had to arrange."

"Aww, let me guess: you were worried your speech might start another civil war and rewrote it on the spot?"

"Oh no, I'm all ready for that. It's just, um… how are you? You nervous?" The bunny seemed to be stalling for something, but Nick played along.

"Me? Pshaw! Sweetheart, you know nothing gets to me. I don't do nervous."

Judy's eyes darted to somewhere the vicinity behind Nick. "Would… you be willing to bet on that?" the rabbit asked anxiously.

Nick frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? Carrots, what's going on?"

"I… brought someone to see you." And then Judy pointed her finger at something, or someone, behind Nick. The fox turned around, and then his jaw dropped, and he quickly threw off his sunglasses to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him.

An elderly vixen was walking towards him, and besides the new grey lines in her fur she was almost unchanged from Nick's last memory of her from over nine years ago. She was wearing a turquoise blouse and a long dark purple skirt, a fashion style he had long known her to favor, and her expression, instead of angry like he might have predicted, was one of both great trepidation and longing.

" _Mom…?"_ Nick's felt his paws tremble as he began striding towards her; slowly and clumsily, as if he were sleepwalking. His mother walked no faster, and looked every bit as nervous as he felt, her paws clutched together and her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. It seemed to take ages for the two to reach each other; and when they did, both just stood there, staring into each other's faces and struggling to think of what to say.

"Mom, I…" Nick stammered. There was a knot in his throat he couldn't seem to work around.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Wilde burst out, her eyes pleading at him.

"Eh-what?" Nick asked, confused.

"I'm sorry about… that notebook, I shouldn't have –"

Nick was stunned, "What are you talking about? It was my fault."

"It was mine," his mother insisted.

"Mine."

"Mine."

"Mi-"

" _Oh_ _Nicky!_ "

And with a sob Mrs. Wilde threw her arms around him, and mother and son finally embraced each other. And as he hugged his mother more tightly than he ever had in his life, Nick began to feel a tidal wave of joy and relief wash over him, weights of regret and shame lifting off his shoulders and realizing just how much his mother must have felt the same way all these years.

" _I'm so sorry, Mom,"_ he whispered into her ear.

Mrs. Wilde nodded onto his shoulder, too overcome with emotion to speak. And standing by watching the reunion was Judy, trying not to choke up herself and mentally cheering that her assumptions of Nick's feelings towards his mother had not been wrong.

Nick and his mother remained in embrace for over a minute before they finally broke apart, gazing into each other's eyes.

"What…what are you doing here?" Nick asked before he could stop himself.

Mrs. Wilde gave a little huff. "You didn't really think I would miss your big day, did you?"

"Well no, but… _how_ are you here?" Nick's gaze shifted from his mother to Judy and then back again.

"That's… kind of a long story." Judy piped up sheepishly. Nick didn't understand, but he had a sudden suspicion that the memory box he had left with Judy months ago had something to do with it.

"Look at you. Just look at you." Mrs. Wilde gripped her son's arms and scanned him up and down, beaming with pride at how handsome he looked in his new uniform.

Suddenly Judy sniffled beside them, wiping her eyes a little with the back of her paw.

"I'm sorry, but we better get ready, the ceremony starts in a minute." And then she quickly hugged both Nick and Mrs. Wilde before rushing up to the stage.

"And I'll be in the front row, cheering you on. Good luck, Nicky!" and Mrs. Wilde gave Nick a little kiss before heading off to her seat.

Nick stood where he was for a moment, still a little stunned, before a familiar bellow alerted him to Major Friedkin's call for all cadets to gather in front of the stage. He hurried over to take his place.

* * *

Two minutes later, Judy stood atop the podium on the stage, staring out at the clapping and cheering audience before her and feeling a sense of déjà vu, remembering her own graduation just a year before. Her heart pounded in her chest like it had at her first press conference, but to her surprise, she found she actually wasn't very nervous this time. Partly because there were no flashing cameras and questions being thrown at her now, and also because now she had a speech prepared, and had written from her heart instead of trying to use every piece of advice everyone had given her. She gazed out at the multitudes of mammals in the crowd. The giraffes, the elephants, the sheep, the wolves, countless species and sizes. And in the very front row, on the right side, she could see Mrs. Wilde, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She was the only fox in the crowd, and by far the proudest face Judy could see. She waved to Judy, and Judy gave a small wave back. And then she looked to the group of graduates that stood before her, standing proud in their finest dress blues with their police hats under their arms and epaulets adorning their shoulders. And proudest of all stood Nick, wearing his sunglasses and holding a cup of coffee in his paw. Their eyes met, and Judy gave him a nod. She gazed down at the paper in front of her and began to speak:

" _When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place, where everyone got along and anyone could be anything…"_

* * *

Watching Judy from the front of his group of fellow cadets, Nick could not help but feel an overwhelming rush of affection for the rabbit. Not only had she given him a new life and a brand new future, but now, somehow, she had brought him and his mother back together. And as Judy spoke, more powerfully and eloquently than he had ever heard her speak before, he lifted up his sunglasses, winked at her, and then removed them. He knew he was last in line to receive his badge since they were given out alphabetically, but he couldn't wait that long, and from the winding-down tone in Judy's voice he could tell the start of the ceremonial pinning was only seconds away…

" _Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us."_

And there it was.

* * *

As she opened the wooden box bearing Nick's new badge, and turned to her new partner, who was smiling more openly and more genuinely than Judy had ever seen him, Judy noticed something off in Nick's eyes. A strange look that, in a moment like this, could only mean one thing… feeling one more reason to smile herself, she pinned the golden police badge on his chest.

And then they saluted, the crowd cheered, and everyone's police caps were tossed into the air.

* * *

Once the hubbub had died down and Nick and Judy started to move off the stage, Mrs. Wilde wasted no time in jumping off her seat and rushing onstage to meet them. And before Nick could protest, his mother had trapped him in a rib-breaking hug and was showering motherly kisses all over his cheeks and muzzle, positively sobbing with joy and happiness.

" _Mooommm… people are WATCHING…"_ Nick hissed through his teeth. Judy giggled.

"Oh Nicky… I'm so _proud_ of you!" His mother moaned between sobs. After a few more kisses she finally let him go, pulled another tissue out of her purse and started dabbing at her eyes.

"I have to go powder my nose, but when I come back, you and I have a _lot_ of catching up to do..." And then she left Nick and Judy alone. As the pair started descending the steps off the stage, Judy decided to bring something up.

"You know, Nick... I couldn't help but notice this strange look in your eyes as I gave you your badge."

Nick gave a little jump, and then quickly brushed it off and put on his most casual face. "Oh, what do you mean?"

Judy gave him a little grin. "Well, I don't know much about fox optometry, but your pupils were dilated, which is a pretty unusual thing in broad daylight. And I think they started to look a little watery when we saluted…"

"It was the sun in my eyes, Carrots. I couldn't wear my sunglasses on stage, remember?"

"Bright light shrinks the pupils, Nick, it doesn't expand them. So either you were on catnip, or you were really, really touched and trying not to cry. Which means, I got to you." She looked directly into his face, her violet eyes piercing him. "So, which is it?"

Nick opened his mouth, trying to spout out another explanation, and then sighed in defeat. "Alright Carrots, you win. You got to me, you always get to me. You happy?"

She nodded.

"Good. Now, please don't mention this to anyone, okay?"

"I promise."

 _Click. Whirr_.

 _"Alright Carrots, you win. You got to me, you always get to me."_

Nick's eyes widened, and he slowly looked downwards: in Judy's left paw was a familiar pen in the shape of a carrot with a little button and a tiny speaker on the side.

"Hey, when did you get that back? I thought it was being used for evidence!"

"It is. This is a new one," Judy casually replied. Nick gaped at her.

"What? You didn't think it was one of a kind, did you? You can get one of these at any office supply store between here and Bunnyburrow. They do come in handy you know. Any time you want to make a memo, remember a number or blackmail a fox, you can use one of these."

She deftly wiggled the pen between her fingers before putting it back into her pocket, and then gently pulled Nick downward and whispered into his ear: "But don't worry, I said I wouldn't tell a soul, and I won't. This little carrot is just for me."

Nick grimaced before making a mental note to buy one of those pens for himself the first opportunity he got. No telling when he could get her to say she was a dumb bunny again.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I know my updates for this story are usually two chapters, but I really wanted to give my readers something nice and fluffy for the holidays, so here I make an exception! To my readers and friends on here, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I look forward to showing you more soon!**


	8. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'd like to thank GhostWolf 88, PizzaSteve3902, ConfusedGoatee, Thou Craggy Knob, Stubat, RemyW, Guest, Cimar of Turalis-WildeHopps, DrummerMax64, Aninat131, Guest, JudyandNick, thecrazywriter14 and Tinbuzzard11 for their reviews of the last two updates! And to Zootopia News Network as well for featuring this story and the Pawcuffs on their site last week, I really appreciate that!**

* * *

 _Savannah Central, Present Day:_

* * *

" _Tum te tum tum…"_

Nick hummed pleasantly to himself as he crossed through the revolving doors of Precinct One the next morning. Judy had told him she was going in to work early instead of walking with him same as usual, which was fine by him because he supposed it meant she was trying to talk to other officers about the party before he arrived. It was only one more day to go now, and while he put up a cool and collected exterior, on the inside he was the most excited he had felt in ages; not since he was a kit had he looked forward to his birthday so much.

And the day was about to get better, for sitting at the front desk as usual was Clawhauser, munching on a jelly doughnut and talking to a familiar thin tiger who had his back to Nick: Tony Sanders, Nick's old classmate at the academy and someone Judy would likely have invited to the party. He and Nick worked different hours, with Tony working a more nocturnal schedule, but they still saw each other time to time; the tiger looked like he was nearing the end of his shift now. Both cheetah and tiger were speaking in what looked like hushed whispers, piquing Nick's interest further. He walked up to them without alerting them to his presence, and spoke up right behind the Tony's back:

"Morning boys, how's things?"

Both felines gave a little jump and turned to face Nick. "Oh, uh, good, things are good. What's up with you, Nick?" said Tony.

Nick inwardly smirked, deciding to play with their heads a little. "Well, as I'm sure Carrots told you, I'm having a birthday tomorrow."

Clawhauser perked up at that. "Oh yeah! She called me yesterday and invited to a dinner for you at Remy's Restaurant! No way I could say no – they got the best food in town!"

Nick processed this; it sounded like Judy and the cheetah had compared notes since yesterday. "And afterwards?" he asked, "Did she mention anything about, say, a _party?_ "

Both Clawhauser and Sanders visibly stiffened.

"Nope, she said me this was just a dinner," Clawhauser said quickly, "And _O-M-G_ , their desserts! They're always, _always_ a surprise masterpiece!"

If that was an attempt at a deflection, Nick was not buying it. "You're getting the dessert? I thought you would have saved for when we got back to my mother's. She is making us cake, you know."

"Yeah, but I gotta have something at the restaurant or I'll just make a pig of myself at your mom's!"

"Hey, don't insult the pigs," said Nick. And then he turned to the tiger. "And what about you, Tony? I suppose you're conveniently busy tomorrow night?"

Tony took a minute to swallow the bite of doughnut he was eating. "Well, yeah, I'm on with McHorn tomorrow night, same as always."

" _Suuure."_ Said Nick.

"I'm serious, just look at the schedule!" Sanders grabbed a sheet of paper from Clawhauser's desk and held it in front of Nick's nose. "See, McHorn and Sanders, 4 PM to 2 AM shift. If there is a party, I can't make it, sorry."

Nick scanned the paper. It seemed the real deal at a glance, he could see all the usual names and times on it, but then he spotted a couple of details that made him smirk in triumph and tap a hole through the paper with a claw:

"Waiiitaminit – this isn't a real schedule! It's dated last week, and there are none of the usual pencil marks in the margins!" Nick batted the paper away and faced the tiger with his paws on his hips. "Why Anthony Burton Sanders, you _are_ in league with the rabbit!"

The tiger looked furious with himself, and opened and closed his mouth a couple times as if trying to spout out a denial, before he sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'll level with you: she did have a surprise party planned for tomorrow night, but then she found out you found out and changed it to just a dinner instead."

"Then why give me the fake schedule? Last I heard you weren't on the dinner invite list."

"She…gave that to me days ago, when the party was still on. I must have picked up the wrong schedule, hold on-"

"Nice try, pal. I overheard her discussing those plans with someone else, and she specifically said she was setting up this dinner just to try and outfox me."

"No, I'm telling you, it's true! Why would she try to throw you a surprise party now when she knows you'll see it coming?"

" _C'mon_ , Carrots and I have been playing these hustling games since the day we met! Trying to pretend this is a little dinner when it's actually a surprise party is just the kind of thing she would do, and your phony little alibi proves it! I know there's a party. She knows I know there's a party. I know that she knows that I know there's a party. But _she_ doesn't know that I know that she knows that I know! The double-reverse-half-truths-check-and-mate gambit, as they call it in chess."

Clawhauser and Sanders looked at Nick like he had grown a third ear. "Ben…" said Tony, holding up the maple-glazed he was eating, "Just how much sugar is in these doughnuts? Because I think they're giving me auditory hallucinations." He whipped out a new schedule sheet and showed it to Nick: "See? Schedule dated this week, the usual pencil marks, and I really _am_ in for tomorrow at four! I tried to get it off but the chief wouldn't allow it."

But Nick was having none of it. "Again, nice try pal. But _nossir_ , some evening in the near future there is going to be a surprise party, and I will NOT be surprised. But don't worry, you just don't tell Carrots I know, and I won't tell her either."

Just then, the trio saw Chief Bogo enter the lobby, carrying a stack of case files under his arm and wearing his usual surly expression.

"Now you two watch this," said Nick, "If my calculations are correct, Chief Buffalo Butt will either have _accepted_ Carrots' invitation, or he will have _declined_."

"Brilliant deduction." Said Clawhauser.

Nick ignored that as he strode up to the Cape buffalo. "Morning Chief, you got a minute?"

The chief paused where he was and glared down at Nick impatiently. "What is it, Wilde?"

Nick shrugged off the buffalo's stern look. "Well, I don't know if Carr – Officer Hopps told you, but I'm having a birthday tomorrow."

"So?" Bogo asked.

"Oh nothin', I was just wondering if she had invited you to the party."

Bogo gave a snort of derision. "I am sorry Wilde, but I make it a point not to get too involved in my officers' personal lives. As your commanding officer a certain amount of professionalism is required. You will get a few words of congratulations from me, but that is it. Whatever is going on, rest assured I will not be coming."

And without another word he turned hoof and left, marching towards the bullpen.

Nick shrugged. "Oh well, guess he declined then. I better get going, see you guys later!" And he took off after Bogo.

Once Nick was gone, Clawhauser raised his eyebrows at the tiger. " _'Burton'?_ "

" _It's a_ _family name._ " Tony growled.

* * *

" _Hmph."_

Ten minutes later Nick sat at his desk, regarding the stack of unfinished paperwork before him with great disdain. He had gone to the bullpen expecting to be assigned to join Judy or go out on his own, but instead Bogo had assigned him to desk duty until she returned. His gut still wanted to say Judy's strange absence was party-related, but if the chief himself had acknowledged her early start he wasn't so sure.

It seemed as good a time as any for Nick to try probing some more about the party situation. Knowing better than to try questioning Flash the sloth over the phone he decided to try somebody who he knew would not be at work at nine in the morning. Digging out his cell, he selected a certain contact and put the phone up to his ear. There was a long wait at the other end, and then:

" _WHAT?"_ grumbled the groggy voice of Finnick on the other end.

"And a good morning to you too Buddy," said Nick. "Listen, I just wanted to ask you: Has Carrots talked to you lately? About, say, a certain party?"

Finnick gave an irate groan at the other end, and Nick heard some shifting and creaking noises as if the fennec was changing position; clearly Nick had just woken him up.

" _Yeah, last week she called and said something about some dumb surprise party, I said sure, then last night she calls me again and says it's just some dinner now. I said sure again. Is that all?"_

"Did she happen to mention that was all just a ruse and there's a party after all?"

There was a slight pause which did not go unnoticed by Nick, and then Finnick answered: _"No, she just said it was dinner at Remy's Restaurant and then back to your mama's for some cake."_

"Where there will be people waiting to jump up and yell surprise the minute we walk in the door, yes, I am aware of how this is going to go," said Nick, smiling at the mental confirmation.

" _If that's how it's going, the rabbit didn't say. But whatever it is, there's a free meal in there somewhere so I'm coming. Just don't expect any big presents."_

"Aww, just your presence is enough, Big Guy."

" _And speaking of presents,"_ said Finnick, _"Thanks again for that photo-op with you in the toot-toot costume. I got a picture of you in it taped to the roof of my van, it's now the first thing I see when I wake up."_

" _Awww_ , you mean I've replaced that old pinup of Pamela Antlerson? Gee, I'm flattered."

The slew of angry swear words that greeted his ears after that prompted Nick to hang up with a cheeky grin.

* * *

The rest of the day was fairly routine, with Judy returning to the precinct around eleven and her and Nick going off on patrol after that, catching three speeders and investigating a robbery throughout the rest of the day. Judy had acted unusually sheepish around him most of the afternoon, and Nick suspected this was due to her being nervous that he might question her about the party again. But true to his word to Clawhauser and Sanders he never brought up the subject, and by the end of their shift the rabbit was starting to act like her normal self again. However, when Nick had suggested they have dinner together after work she had gone straight back into nervous mode, stammering that she 'had other plans'. Knowing full well what she meant Nick had shrugged it off and bidden her goodnight, same as usual. He spent the evening by himself eating dinner and watching a new series on FurFlix, and it wasn't until he was getting ready for bed that he finally got the call he had been anticipating since yesterday:

" _Hello, Nicky?"_

"Mom! Hi, how have you been? I thought you were going to call me yesterday."

" _Sorry Sweetie, it was harder to get that reservation at Remy's than I thought, but I did it! We're officially booked in for their best table at six."_

Nick mentally put two and two together and realized his mom must have had to change her reservation plans due to his meddling yesterday. He felt a twinge of guilt.

"So, have you talked to Carrots lately?" he asked.

" _Judy? Oh yes, she called me last week concerning your birthday. Color me surprised when she said you had never told her when your birthday was."_

"Uh, the right moment never came up." Nick muttered.

" _Uh-huh. Anyway, we talked it over, and she suggested instead of it being just you and me for dinner she and some of your friends would surprise you by joining us at the restaurant. I agreed."_

"Surprise us at the restaurant? Don't you mean at, say, your place?"

There was a slight pause, and then Mrs. Wilde replied, _"Of course not."_

This ticked Nick's mental box.

"A-HA! Nice try, Mom! Ho-ho, Carrots, you're good, but you're not that good!"

" _What are you talking about?"_ Mrs. Wilde asked.

"I'm sorry Mom, but I know there's going to be people waiting at your apartment when we get back. I know you and Carrots have been planning a surprise party for me."

His mother didn't speak again for a minute, but when she did, it was with a cold harshness he hadn't heard her use in many years. _"I am afraid we're not now, Nicky. But if we were, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!"_

Nick felt a stone drop in his stomach at his mother's scolding.

" _Judy went to a lot of trouble to set this all up for you, and here you are trying to ruin it! In fact, you did! Because of you, we've had to change everything! Whatever you found out, whenever you found out, the least you could have done was keep your mouth shut and just let it happen!"_

Nick hung his head in shame. She was right. Judy _had_ gone to a lot of trouble just to do something nice for him, and how had he repaid her? By trying to make it more difficult for her in the name of some mind game. That twinge of guilt from earlier turned into a full-on punch.

"I'm sorry Mom, you're right. Look, tell Judy I don't know, okay? In fact, tell her you convinced me there was no party, and I'll go along with it. When it happens, I'll be the most surprised fox you've ever seen. The pinnacle of shock and awe, I promise."

" _You swear?"_ Mrs. Wilde asked, sounding to sound like her usual self again.

"Yes, I swear, fox's honor."

" _Good, I'll tell her that then. In fact, I'll call her and tell her right now. Goodnight Sweetie, see you tomorrow."_

"Goodnight Mom. And thank you."

Nick hung up with a sigh, and then decided to check his e-mail before turning in. Laying back on his cot he opened the app and saw two new messages: the first was from Chief Bogo addressed to all officers, declaring that there was another early briefing in the morning and everyone was to arrive an hour earlier than scheduled. That one made him groan, but then the address on the other e-mail perked him up instantly: _Sven at SJTalent dot com_.

Smirking to himself as he read the message, Nick typed out a quick response:

 _Great, I'll send him your way as soon as I find him again. Thanks Buddy, I owe you one._

Then after resetting the alarm on his phone and setting it down on the nightstand, Nick turned off the lamp and buried his head into his pillow, sighing in contentment. Tomorrow was another early start, but for once he didn't care. It was his birthday, and for the first time ever he was going to have a party. He could hardly wait to see the bright smile on Carrots' face when everyone yelled surprise and he played the most flabbergasted fox anyone had ever seen.


	9. Flashback 5

**Note: this flashback picks up directly after the end of my previous story 'Movie Night'.**

* * *

 _Cypress Grove Lane, one week ago…_

* * *

The moment she was out of sight of Nick's house, Judy pulled out her phone and started searching through her contacts. She could feel gears start to turn as some of the things that Nick had said that evening fluttered through her mind:

" _Okay, it was my 8_ _th_ _birthday."_

" _Wow, that happened almost twenty-five years ago. Time sure flies, huh?"_

" _I didn't really have parties or anything like that when I was a kit since I didn't make many friends, but my mom still always found ways to make it special…"_

Finding the number she was looking for, one she had acquired a few days before Nick's academy graduation, Judy pressed the call button and lifted the phone up to her ear. A few rings went by on the other end…

" _Hello…?_ " answered a drowsy voice.

"Hello, Mrs. Wilde? It's Judy."

" _Judy?"_ Judy heard a clicking sound on Mrs. Wilde's end as if she were turning on a lamp; obviously she had woken the vixen up. _"It's late, dear, what's going on?"_

"Mrs. Wilde, When is Nick's birthday?" Judy asked, getting straight to the point.

" _His birthday?"_ Mrs. Wilde replied, _"Why, it's a week from today, on the tenth,"_ There was a pause. _"Wait, he's never told you?"_

"No!"

" _Hmm…"_ the elderly vixen mused. _"Well, I suppose that makes sense."_

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

Mrs. Wilde sighed, as if steeling herself for what she was about to say. _"You know how Nicholas and I had a falling out ten years ago, when I found out he was a grifter?"_

"Yes?" said Judy.

" _This happened on his twenty-third birthday. He had come over for a dinner, and that was when I… confronted him."_

" _OHH…"_ mouthed Judy, her eyes widening with comprehension for the second time that evening.

" _He told me he ignored his birthday every year since, because it reminded him of his shame in lying to me. I'm guessing he wasn't ready to tell you about that just yet."_

Judy nodded her head in understanding, even though Mrs. Wilde couldn't see it.

" _But enough of that; what brought this on?"_ Mrs. Wilde asked.

"Well, you see, we were watching this old favorite movie of his on FurFlix, _Robin Hood_ …"

" _Robin Hood…_ " Mrs. Wilde repeated, comprehension in her voice, _"I took Nicky to that for his eighth birthday! Oh he loved it so!"_

"Yeah, he told me all about that," said Judy, "I didn't even know that when I picked the movie, I only picked it because I remembered seeing a Robin Hood book in his memory box months ago."

" _Good, isn't it?"_ said Mrs. Wilde, _"I saw it myself for the first time back in 1973, with Nicky's future father! It was our first date!"_

"Really?" Judy had had no idea of that. "Well that explains a lot."

" _You have no idea what a phenomenon that movie was for him and me and all the other foxes in our school – all the tods would start shooting pretend arrows at vixens they liked, and every vixen I knew had a picture of Brian Bedfurd as Robin Hood in their locker."_

"Did _you?_ " Judy asked innocently.

" _Oh no, I was happily in love with my future husband at the time_." Mrs. Wilde replied rather quickly.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, back to the subject of Nick's birthday," said Judy, who then sat down on the curb because she was getting tired of standing on the sidewalk, "What were your plans for it, anyway?"

" _Nicky suggested we celebrate by going out to dinner and then back to my place for some homemade cake. Do you have another idea in mind?"_

" _Oh yes_ …" said Judy, "He said a few times he never had parties as a kit, so let's give him one!"

" _A party?"_ asked Mrs. Wilde.

"A _surprise_ party!" Judy declared, her excitement growing with every second, "A surprise party where he walks in and the lights go on and everyone jumps up and yells surprise and Nick is so shocked he drops everything and faints!"

" _Yes, yes, YES!"_ cried Mrs. Wilde, sounding almost giddy herself now. _"We'll have it at my apartment! The setup is perfect! I'll take him to dinner like he wanted, and while we're out you get everything ready! Balloons, streamers, the works! Do you know any of Nicky's friends who could come?"_

"At least a dozen: his old partner Finnick, his pal Flash the sloth, and a bunch of our fellow officers!"

" _Good, let's set a dozen as the maximum, I doubt my apartment can hold more than that,"_ said Mrs. Wilde. _"That sounds great, Judy, but I don't think it's enough. This is my first birthday with Nicky in ten years, and your first ever. It needs something more. Something more special than cake and presents…"_

Both vixen and bunny on each end thought silently for a few seconds, before Judy's eyes lit up with inspiration. "Maybe we can get Brian Bedfurd to come to the party!"

" _Brian Bedfurd…?"_ Mrs. Wilde asked trepidaciously.

"Yeah, Nick seemed to really admire him! I bet he'd love to meet him, he could tell him all kinds of stories about the making of the movie!"

There was a slight pause on Mrs. Wilde's end. _"That would be wonderful, Judy, but how do we find him? Last I heard he's still alive, but I don't know if he lives in Zootopia - he vanished from the public eye some years ago. Any chance you could look him up in the police system?"_

"Not unless he has a criminal record," Judy replied, her ears drooping a little, "And I can't try looking for his tax info unless it's part of a case."

Then Judy's ears perked up as she suddenly remembered another earlier conversation with Nick. "But I think I know someone who might be able to help us," she stated.

" _Oh? Do tell."_ said Mrs. Wilde.

"You remember that minstrel from the movie? Alan-a-Tail, I think he was called?"

" _The brown raccoon? Roger Thrash? Certainly!"_

"Well, there's this busker Nick and I know who we see sometimes while patrolling Savannah Central," said Judy, "His name is Max and he plays drums, and he's a Torch Key raccoon like Roger, and he looks exactly like him, I remember noting the resemblance," Judy grinned, "I'm willing to bet they're related. And we looked Roger Thrash up, and he's still alive and living in Zootopia. If I can find Max I'll ask him, and if I'm right maybe I can get him to ask Roger to come to the party and meet Nick! And if Roger can help us track down Brian Bedfurd too, all the better!"

" _Do you think he'll do it?_ " Mrs. Wilde asked excitedly.

"I think so, Max is a nice kid," Judy replied, "No harm in asking, right?"

" _Certainly not."_ Said Mrs. Wilde, a smile audible in her voice. Judy smiled too, a familiar feeling spreading through her, the same sense of purpose she felt every time she put on her police uniform, any chance she found to help someone, to make their world a little better.

" _An alliance…?"_ Mrs. Wilde asked.

"An alliance." confirmed Judy. "Let's give Nick Wilde the best birthday he's ever had!"


	10. Chapter 5: The Party

**A/N: Thanks to GhostWolf88, Guest, and PizzaSteve3902 for their reviews of chapter 4! And now, the chapter you've all been waiting for...**

 _Nick's Basement Suite, Present Day:_

* * *

 _Tap TapTapTap Tap!_

A familiar knock at the front door put a slight smile on Nick's face as he emerged from his bedroom to answer it, having just finished putting on his uniform. _Now remember_ , he reminded himself as he gripped the doorknob, _there's no party, it's only a dinner_.

Then he tapped out 'two-bits' as usual and opened the door. "Morning Nick! Happy Birthday!" greeted the smiling bunny before him.

"Thanks Carrots, good morning to you too," said Nick as he grabbed his wallet and keys from the counter. "And congratulations, you are officially the first person to say that to me in ten years." He added as he closed and locked the door behind him.

Nick let out a yawn as they started down the street towards the precinct. "I sure hope we catch that new gang soon, because I've had enough of these hour-early shifts. There ought to be a law against making foxes wake up early on their birthday."

"Aww, just think of it as an extra hour of birthday to celebrate!" Judy responded, the usual spring in her step intact.

"And speaking of celebrating," said Nick, "I heard from Mom last night, she said the dinner tonight is all-go, thanks again for arranging that."

"You're welcome," Judy seemed to mull over her words before she added, "Sorry the surprise party didn't work out."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for the part I played in ruining it," said Nick with a touch of real remorse.

"Nah, it wasn't going well anyway, so many people couldn't make it because of their schedules. This is exactly why we bunnies don't do birthday parties."

"For what it's worth, I'm still grateful though," said Nick.

"And I'm glad," said Judy, "But you might want to hold off thanking me, because I still haven't even gotten all the guests for dinner tonight."

Nick kept his face as casual as possible. "Let me guess, Flash?"

"How long does it take a sloth to send a simple text message?" Judy asked in exasperation.

 _Ping!_

Judy's ears gave a twitch as a sudden ding came from her pocket. "Huh, maybe that's him now," she muttered as she pulled her phone out. But when she looked at the screen she stopped, and her ears visibly stiffened.

"Is it him?" Nick asked.

"No, it's…one of my sisters." Said Judy. Her eyes darted around, then landed on the convenience store next to them. "I'm sorry Nick, but do you mind if I duck in here for a minute? I need to make a call."

"Why? You can call out here, I don't mind."

"No, it's…" Judy seemed to be fumbling for an answer, "It's bunny stuff, okay?"

Nick blinked in confusion. "Bunny stuff?"

" _Girl_ bunny stuff."

" _Girl_ bunny stuff?" Nick repeated. "Carrots, are you gonna be an auntie again for the three-hundredth time? Congratulations!"

" _No,_ not _that_ kind of girl bunny stuff!"Judy huffed. And without another word she ducked into the store, a little bell inside tinkling when she opened the door. However, as the door slowly closed, Nick couldn't help but sneak in himself just before it shut completely. Looking over he saw Judy disappear around a corner into a small frozen foods section on the far wall. Keeping his head low and moving as quietly as he could Nick crept through the store and snuck into the candy aisle adjacent to the frozen section, hoping the ambient hum of the freezers would keep the bunny from hearing his footsteps. Through a thin crack between the shelves he could see Judy, frantically dialling her phone with her back to him. She put the phone up to her ear:

"Hello? Clawhauser?"

Yep, that confirmed Nick's suspicion that the text was party-related. If it really had been one of Judy's sisters he would have left the store then and there.

"I just got your text: What do you mean you can't come to the party? Do you mean you really can't make it?"

Nick leaned closer, his ears standing at rapt attention.

"…You mean you really, _really_ can't make it? Look, Ben, I know I must sound awfully mean asking you to come over when you think you're getting the flu, but… Gee, it's just not going to be much of a party without you!"

A little pit dropped in Nick's stomach. _Was the party falling apart for real?_

"Well, so far only Finnick! You can't come, the Ottertons couldn't come, half the officers are working and the other half have other things, and, and I still haven't heard back from Flash! I told Nick we'd have Flash and you at the restaurant, and now he'll never believe two guests cancelled!"

Nick felt his heart go out to Judy; the poor bunny was starting to sound distraught now.

"Okay, okay, listen: if you feel any better this afternoon, will you call me, please? Thanks."

Nick watched through the crack as Judy pressed the _end call_ button and then the arm holding her phone fell to her side, her back still to him and her ears drooping as low as they could go. Thinking fast, Nick whipped around and tiptoed back to the store entrance. He threw open the front door and made the little bell tinkle, and then retraced his steps making as much noise as he could. He poked his head around the aisle corner:

"Sorry Carrots, but we gotta go. We're gonna be-"

And then he saw something that made his heart break on the spot: Judy was crying, right in the middle of the frozen foods aisle where she stood.

" _Ohhh, Nick!"_ Judy ran up to the fox and buried her face in his chest, her head shaking with tears. "Clawhauser is _siiick!"_

Taken aback, Nick gently ran his paw over the top of Judy's head, "Oh, don't worry, Clawhauser is a big cat, I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"No no Nick, you don't _understand!_ " Judy's muffled voice choked out.

"Oh, I think I do, Carrots," said Nick with a smile.

"No you don't!"

"Believe me, I do." the fox affirmed.

"No you _don't!"_

"Oh Carrots…"

"Oh Nick!" Judy unstuck her face from Nick's chest and gazed into his face, her teary purple eyes staring into his green ones. "Do you have any idea what I have gone through in the last few days? I have worked, and arranged and called and texted and e-mailed and all other kinds of sneaking around, just to give you a surprise birthday party…" she sniffled, "…and everything fell through!"

She started sobbing into Nick's shirt again.

"Judy, Judy, don't cry…" Nick consoled.

"WHY SHOULDN'T I CRY!?" Judy wailed, "I have a perfectly good and honest excuse to cry and now I'm gonna CRYYY!" Nick was deeply touched but also had to fight back the urge to laugh at what a big scene she was making of this.

"Judy? Look, if it'll make you feel any better, I'm glad that the whole surprise thing fell through for real."

" _Whyyy?"_

Nick pondered his answer. "Because… because I just couldn't have looked properly surprised, that's all. I've known what your plans were since Wednesday."

Judy gawked up at Nick again, her nose twitching. "Oh, you couldn't have! Not really, no!"

"Believe me Judy, I did."

"How _could_ you?"

"I just did! What's the difference – ask anybody! Ask my mom!"

Judy stepped away from Nick, their eyes never breaking contact. "You knew…everything?"

"Yes Carrots, I knew everything. The other day when we were in the diner, and I started asking you party questions, I could read that cute little face of yours like a book." He playfully booped the end of her nose with his finger.

Judy swatted his paw away in annoyance, "You only knew what I wanted you to know!"

Nick's eyebrow shot up. "How's that?"

"Well, after you basically told me you knew a surprise party was in the works, I knew you would start questioning people so I told everyone to tell you that the party had been cancelled and so we were just going to go to a restaurant and have dinner."

"That's right, and everyone would have been waiting at my mom's and yelled surprise when we came back for cake! Judy, I'm sorry to tell you, but I knew that was your plan all along! And look, believe me, I appreciate this every bit as much I would if the party had been a success, if not more."

"*Sniff*, you're just saying that."

"No, I mean it! Surprise or no surprise this is still one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me," Nick kneeled down to Judy's eye level and gripped her shoulders, staring intently into her face. "And I will always be grateful for it. Thank you, Judy."

Judy gave an adorable little sniffle, "You're welcome."

The pair embraced once more, and then Nick started to lead her out of the store, for they were truly running late now.

* * *

Judy was very subdued for the rest of the trip to the station, but once they were walking up the steps to the precinct her ears began to perk up again and that familiar spring returned to her step.

"By golly Nick, next year I am going to surprise you for your birthday, even if I have to do it three months early!"

They crossed through the revolving door into the lobby.

"Ha, if you ever pull that off, I will wear the costume of shame to work." Nick retorted.

"Is that a bet?" Judy asked.

"It's a bet."

The pair strode through the lobby, where instead of Clawhauser at reception they were greeted with a grunt by Officer Kang, an antisocial kangaroo who normally worked in records. They passed the desk into the hallway that led to the bullpen, but just when they were at the door, Judy stopped him.

"No, better yet – three months late! Then you'll _never_ guess!" she stated.

Nick chuckled. "That's a good idea, keep me on the edge of my seat for half a year, that's perfect. Might as well just skip the whole year, then I'll forget my birth date altogether."

Judy tapped her chin thoughtfully. _"Orrr…"_ She gripped the doorknob, "Maybe I'll just give you a party – RIGHT NOW!" She flung the door open–

" _SURPRISE!"_

A cascade of noise made Nick jump three feet in the air and his jaw dropped in shock as he felt himself thrust into the bullpen: a crowd of animals in party hats stood before him, arms in the air and cheering. Nick stared bug-eyed around the room: at least a dozen other officers were there, including Tony, a smiling Clawhauser who clearly did _not_ have the flu, and even Bogo, who unlike the others not wearing a hat. And in front, almost miniscule next to the much larger officers in the room, stood two very familiar foxes: Finnick, who was gleefully capturing Nick's reaction on his phone, and his mother, who was dressed in her Sunday best and beaming at him.

"Mom…" Nick mouthed, walking up to her, "Carrots…" he looked back at Judy behind him, and then at his mother again, "What is – you two did this?"

Both vixen and rabbit flashed him the smuggest smirk imaginable and replied in unison: "It's called a hustle, Sweetheart."

"BOOOOMM!" howled all the officers in the room, and then everyone burst into laughter and clapping.

While all the guests in the room wooted and cheered Nick looked around the colorfully-decorated bullpen: all the chairs and tables except for one had been stacked up against the east and west walls to make room for everybody, festive balloons and streamers lined the ceiling, and a large banner with the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK hung over the chalkboard on the north wall. The remaining table in the corner held an assortment of refreshments, including coffee, doughnuts and (Nick's heart gave a leap) a bowl of blueberries next to a crate emblazoned with the Hopps Family Farm logo. He felt somebody stick a party hat onto his head as he began to make his way through the crowd towards the delectable blue treats.

And then a loud knock at the door silenced everyone.

"Oh good – that must be the entertainment!" Mrs. Wilde declared as she went to answer it.

"Entertainment…?" And then Nick noticed: behind the crowd of guests, on the dais that normally supported Bogo's lectern now rested a drum set, a guitar on a stand, and an electric keyboard. "You guys hired a BAND? Mom, isn't that a little overkill?"

"I have a lot of birthdays to catch up on here, Nicky," Mrs. Wilde declared as she put her paw to the doorknob, "And it's not just a band, it's also our special guest of honor!"

And she opened the door, revealing a familiar brown-furred Torch Key raccoon holding a pair of drumsticks.

"Hey again, Officer Wilde!" greeted Max Thrash as he walked up to Nick and shook his paw. "Happy Birthday!"

" _Max?_ " Nick gaped in disbelief, " _You're_ the guest of honor?"

Max chuckled. "Oh no, not me, I'm just here to play!" And he strode over to the dais where he sat down behind the drum set.

"And this is Errol," Mrs. Wilde gestured to a portly golden jackal wearing sunglasses and a turtleneck who entered next, "He will be playing keyboard."

"Mornin' Nick, Happy Birthday!" greeted the jackal as he walked past Nick to join Max on the dais. Nick frowned a little as he watched the jackal go by; he seemed to have avoided Nick's eye, although that was hard to tell since he was wearing shades.

"And I believe you know who this is!" Mrs. Wilde called to Nick. Nick turned and looked, and his jaw almost dropped again.

Standing before him was an elderly raccoon with green eyes and brown and tan fur nearly identical to Max's. His facial fur was now flecked with grey and he wasn't wearing a puffy-sleeved shirt or a feathered hat, but he was still completely recognizable from his appearance in the 1970s. It was Roger Thrash, retired country singer and portrayer of the minstrel Alan-a-Tail in _Robin Hood_.

After a second Nick realized he was starting to stare, and then he fake-coughed and put on his trademark grin. "Hey, Roger Thrash, right? Nice to meet you."

And with that Roger strode right up to him, took his paw, and shook it enthusiastically. "And it's a really big honor to meet you, Officer Wilde. My family and I are all fans of you and Officer Hopps."

Nick chuckled, and suddenly realized he sounded a little nervous; his usual mask of indifference seemed to have a crack in it.

"Why uh, thank you," Nick rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, what brings you here?"

"Well, your mother called me two days ago," explained Roger, "She said she got my number from my grandson, and explained that she wanted me to come entertain at her son's birthday party. I was a little hesitant, but then she said it was for you and mentioned you liked _Robin Hood_ and, well, who could resist?"

He patted Nick heartily on the shoulder, and strode over to join Max and Errol on the dais where he picked up the guitar.

Nick was floored; not only had he gotten his first-ever birthday party after all, but now it even included a guest star from _Robin Hood_. Judy and his mother truly had gone all out for him. And then he felt a soft paw on his shoulder and a smaller one on his arm, and turned to find said rabbit and vixen gazing fondly at him.

"Mom, Carrots…" he croaked. And then suddenly, without warning, he bent down and wrapped his arms around them both in a tight hug.

There was a moment of stunned silence throughout the room at Nick's atypical display of affection, and then:

" _Awwww!"_ squealed Clawhauser.

The whole room burst into applause while Nick hugged Judy and his mother and the band began warming up for their performance.

"Attention! ATTENTION!" Chief Bogo called out.

All the guests went quiet, and Nick and his group hug separated.

"Now as you know, this little celebration is for _one hour only_ ," the Cape buffalo stated, "And by the end of that hour, I expect to have this room spotless, all the guests cleared out, and all my officers waiting at attention to receive their day's assignments. Is that clear?"

Everybody nodded.

"Good," said Bogo. And then to everybody's surprise he whipped out a party hat of his own, strung it onto his head, and threw his beefy arms into the air. "LET'S PARTY!"

"Take it away, boys!" called Mrs. Wilde.

And then the lights went out, disco lights started flashing, and Max began pounding at the drums. Everyone in the room cheered and started dancing to Max's beat, and then Roger and Errol joined on guitar and keyboard. And after a minute of warming up they launched into something Nick had never even imagined: a rock-and-roll version of the Happy Birthday song.

" _Happy Happy Birthday, from all of us to youuu…"_ Roger began to sing.

* * *

After a few minutes of partying and munching on blueberries and listening to the Thrashes and Errol follow up the birthday number with a song by Led Zebralin, Nick found Judy in the crowd and tapped on her shoulder. "Carrots? A word if you please?"

Judy nodded and the two went out into the hall, shutting the door behind them. Nick turned and faced the rabbit almost humbly, his shoulders slouched and his paws in his pockets.

"Well Carrots, I must commend you. That party ploy was a pretty darn good hustle."

Judy smiled proudly, "Thank you, but it's really your mother you should be thanking."

"Oh believe me, I will," Nick replied, "But given the nature of the party and the guest appearance of an actor from a movie we watched a week ago who happens to be related to a raccoon we encountered two days ago, I can't help but wonder if this whole thing was your idea."

"It was at first, but then this morning party and that whole charade about the party being cancelled, that was all your mother's doing. Believe me, when it comes to planning surprise parties, I really am just a dumb bunny."

"Oh no, you're just not a natural at keeping secrets," said Nick, "You're too honest."

"I will take that as a compliment, and I do hope this little venture has taught you a lesson about eavesdropping."

Nick's ears pinned back a little, "Oh, you knew about that, huh?"

"Since Wednesday, that's how we got you," Judy pointed up at her own long ears, "Never underestimate bunny hearing."

Nick grinned. "Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox."

"Nice little performance in the store by the way. Someone give the bun an Oxcar."

"Oh that? That was nothing – you should have seen my Lady Macbun back in junior high."

"And bringing in Roger Thrash to meet me, wow. The only thing that could have made this any better is if Brian Bedfurd himself had come."

"Actually we tried to find him too, but Roger couldn't get ahold of him," Judy explained.

Nick nodded in acceptance, and then patted her on the shoulder, "Come on, let's get back to the party, I hear there are presents."

The two briefly hugged once more, and as they stepped back inside to the music and the dancing officers, Nick discreetly slipped something into his pocket.

* * *

 **A/N: I just had to release this chapter today, because today, March 4** **th** **, marks the second anniversary of Zootopia's release in theaters! Happy Birthday Zootopia, and what an impact you've had on all of us!**

 **This is not the last chapter, there are two more to go. But I don't know how long it will take to get the next one out because starting tomorrow I'm going back to school to begin a 30-week trades program, so only time will tell how much writing I can get in while doing the program. But I will update as soon as I can, and in the meantime wish you all a good day!**

 **P.S. Officer Kang belongs to Aninat131.**


	11. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'd like to thank GhostWolf88, Guest, PizzaSteve3902, Aninat131, jozsamarcell7, Cimar of Turalis-WildeHopps, Tinbuzzard11 and DrummerMax64 for their reviews of chapters 8 through 10! And to DrummerMax, Happy Birthday Buddy! I hope this update will add to this joyous day for you.**

* * *

"Aww, you really didn't have to get me anything, Mrs. O," said Nick as his mother pressed a large brightly-wrapped parcel into his paws.

The music and dancing in the bullpen had gone on for half an hour after Nick and Judy's little talk before Mrs. Wilde had the band stop so Nick could open his presents. Max, Roger and Errol were now standing by their instruments quietly watching the unwrapping. Nick had just unwrapped a framed photo of his graduation day from his mother and was now about to unwrap a gift from someone who could not make the party, but was watching the whole proceedings via video chat from Judy's phone: Mrs. Otterton.

" _Nonsense, dear!"_ replied Mrs. Otterton, _"After all you did to help save my husband, this was the least I could do."_

"Eh, I was just along for the ride, it was Carrots who did all the driving," Nick replied modestly. He weighed the package in his paws and felt it; it was both light and soft. "Gee, I wonder what this could be…" And then on cue Max started a drumroll as Nick opened the package to reveal a handsome forest-green sweater.

" _Ooh_ , this is nice!" said Nick as he held the garment up against his body and felt it through his fingers, "And _so_ soft…"

" _I thought it would bring out the color of your eyes, dear,"_ said Mrs. Otterton proudly.

"She knitted that herself!" declared Judy.

"Really? Well, thanks, Mrs. O!" said Nick to the camera, "This'll come in real handy next time Carrots and I are working Tundratown." He folded the sweater neatly and laid it down next to the framed photo.

"This next! This next!" said Clawhauser, waving a thickly-stuffed envelope at Nick.

"Okay, thank you Benji," said Nick as he took the envelope and turned it over in his paws looking for the flap.

"Well, technically it's not just from me, it's from a bunch of us," said Clawhauser, gesturing at several other officers who murmured in agreement, "I was just in charge of purchasing."

"Izzat so? Well, thank you all of you!" Nick called out. He opened the envelope to reveal:

"A book of Tim Howlton's coupons? Thanks!" Nick flipped the first page, "Certificate entitles bearer to one free cup of coffee. Perfect!" And then he flipped to the page and frowned a little: "This certificate entitles bearer to one free box of a dozen doughnuts."

Nick flipped through the book some more, his suspicions growing by the second. "Free cup of coffee, free box of doughnuts, free box of doughnuts, free box of- oh, Timbits."

He lowered the book, gazing at nothing, "Gee, I wonder how I am _ever_ going to eat so many doughnuts."

Clawhauser put on his most innocent face. "Well, we thought maybe you could always make arrangements to share."

"And just who might 'we' be?" Nick playfully asked the chubby cheetah.

* * *

The party carried on for a few more minutes after that until Chief Bogo marched up to the podium and blew a whistle, silencing everybody.

"I do hate to interrupt these celebrations," announced the Cape buffalo, "But as you can see, the clock on the wall reads 8:53, which means you all have seven minutes to put this bullpen back in working order or _all_ of you will be on parking duty, _including_ the civilian guests. IS THAT CLEAR?!"

"Sir, yes sir!" affirmed Judy. "Everyone, clean-up positions, move!" she called out.

The clean-up went by like clockwork at Judy's direction: the smaller officers removed the food and decorations, the bigger ones replaced the tables and chairs, Nick took away his presents and stashed them in his locker, and the Thrashes and Errol evacuated the room with their instruments along with Finnick and Mrs. Wilde. By nine o'clock on the dot, the whole room was back in order and every officer was standing at attention awaiting Bogo's commands.

"At ease!" said Bogo, and everyone took their seats. Sweeping his eyes once around the room and snorting in satisfaction, the chief slid on his glasses and regarded his clipboard.

"Now, today's assignments. Wolford, Fangmeyer-"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Now who on Earth could that be?" Bogo asked in exasperation.

Officer Johnson got up and answered the door, revealing two smartly dressed sloths: Flash 'Hundred-yard-Dash' Slothmore and his girlfriend Priscilla from the DMV.

"Are…we…late…for…the…party?" Flash asked.

* * *

After the two sloths were thanked and sent on their way Bogo resumed passing out assignments, giving Nick and Judy their task of patrol duty last. But instead of leaving right straight away the two hung back, and once Bogo himself left, Judy turned to Nick.

"So what did you think, Nick? Did we get you or what?" the bunny asked proudly.

"Oh, you got me alright," said Nick, "Just don't count on that ever happening again, because next year I will be _extra_ -vigilant!"

"I dunno, your mom and I make a pretty good team," said Judy, "Besides, I gave you a six-month window for your next birthday party, you really think you can stay _extra-vigilant_ for that long?"

"You'd be surprised, Carrots. In fact, after today I doubt you two will never surprise me again."

" _I dunno, the day is still young…"_ Judy muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Judy piped up.

Then before Nick could react she sidled off the chair, facing him. "By the way, I'm so sorry I didn't manage to get you a present too."

To that, Nick almost gawked. "After _this_? Believe me, Carrots, this party was way more than enough. You owe me absolutely nothing."

"Still, at least I can give you this one little thing," said Judy, holding out a folded piece of paper.

Nick took the paper and read it: **This certificate entitles bearer to ONE free pass on wearing the Costume of Shame to work.**

"I seem to recall us making a little bet in the lobby just before the party," said Judy, "but because it's your birthday I thought I'd give you a pass on it. Unless you really do think the party was enough..."

"No no, I accept! Here!" Nick passed the paper back to Judy, "I hereby redeem my gift certificate, and resolve to be more careful next time I make any bet that involves the costume of shame."

"Good," Judy smirked as she tossed the paper in the recycle bin and turned to leave the room. Then she paused, noticing Nick hadn't gotten up yet. "You coming?" she asked.

"In a minute."

Judy started for the door.

"And Carrots?" Nick called.

Judy spun around.

"Thank you." He said.

Judy nodded and smiled warmly at him, and as he watched her leave the room Nick returned the expression. The fox leaned back in the chair and stretched, sighing in contentment. So many great gifts that bunny had given him over the year and a half he had known her. And speaking of gifts…

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a novelty pen in the shape of a carrot with a little button and a tiny speaker on the side. He pressed the button:

 _Click. Whirr._

" _Believe me, when it comes to planning surprise parties, I really am just a dumb bunny."_

 _Click. Whirr._

"… _I really am just a dumb bunny."_

"And thank you for not making me use this to get out of that bet," Nick muttered with a hint of triumph. He tucked the pen back into his pocket, "I'd prefer to hang on to this little carrot this time."

* * *

After Nick left the bullpen he found Judy at a sitting area behind the front desk in the lobby, along with his mother, Finnick, the Thrashes and Errol, all muttering among themselves. For some reason all of them looked tense, excited even. Except for Errol, whose expression Nick found himself unable to read.

"Oh good, I'm glad you're all still here, I've got things to say." He said as he approached the group.

"Nicky…" his mother stood up to face him, "Would you sit down for a minute? We have something to tell you too."

"Sure, but me first," insisted Nick. He put his paws on his mother's shoulders and gazed into her eyes. "Mom, thank you. I am so glad that even after ten years, you haven't lost your touch as the birthday master."

Then he looked down at Finnick, "Finn, a pleasure seeing you at the party. Carrots and my mom must have done some real talking to get you to come in at seven in the morning."

"I told you, free meal, I'm in," said Finnick, "And that look on your face was _so_ worth it." He looked at Mrs. Wilde, "But next time, let's have the party at a decent hour, 'kay?"

"Of course." Said Mrs. Wilde with a chuckle.

"And Max," Nick turned to the younger Torch Key raccoon, "Thank you for your role in all this too. And it's great timing that you're here today, because I have something for you."

He dug around in his wallet, and pulled out a business card. "Remember the other day, when you said you were looking for work? Well, I pulled some strings, and I think I've found some people who can help you out with that little problem."

Max took the card, and his jaw dropped as he read the name. "Spotwood-Jingle Talent Agency? That's the most exclusive agency in the city! They even represent _Gazelle!_ "

"I know," said Nick with relish, "But the owners and I go way back. I showed them a video I took of you performing on the street, and it got them fired up. They want to audition you, and once they take you on I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting a new job. In fact…" Nick checked his phone, "They should be opening up right about now, if you'd like to give them a call."

"Thank you! Thank you, I will!" said a breathless Max as he dug out his own phone. Reading the number on the card he feverishly dialed and turned his back to the group, "Hello, may I speak to Mr. Jingle please?" he said.

"You know Gazelle's agents?" Judy asked Nick incredulously.

"I know everybody, how many times do I have to tell you that?" said Nick.

"You didn't know _him,_ " Judy retorted, pointing at Roger.

"That's true, but now I do, and my record stands." Nick shot back. "And Roger," he regarded the elder raccoon, "Great performance back there. And thanks for coming, it was a real honor to meet you."

"Oh, it's not over yet," said Roger with a trace of a grin, "I hear there is a little _soirée_ at your mother's tonight. If you'd like I would be happy to come, I can tell you what I remember about making the _Robin Hood_ movie."

"Sure, sounds like fun!" Nick replied. And then everybody quieted down as they heard Max raise his voice.

"Uh-huh, great! Great, see you then! Bye!" said Max as he ended his call. He turned around and faced all the mammals surrounding him. "Audition this afternoon at one o'clock," he stated.

"That's great, Max!" said Judy.

"Congratulations, son!" said Roger proudly.

"Yes, thank you! And thank you, Officer Wilde!" said an elated Max.

Nick waved him off. "Please, call me Nick. And there's no need to thank me."

"Yes there is!" piped up Roger, "That was a wonderful thing you just did for my grandson!"

"I quite agree." said Errol from beside Roger.

Nick was startled; besides their brief greeting at the party he had never heard Errol speak before, the golden jackal had always just stood by in the background. And now his voice sounded different from before: higher, crisper, and with a light English accent. And when the jackal stood up, facing Nick, Nick saw something off about his smile; somehow his teeth didn't seem to line up with his mouth.

"I'm terribly sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier, I didn't want to distract from the rest of the party," said Errol as he removed his sunglasses. A pair of slightly familiar hazel eyes greeted Nick, but he couldn't place where he'd seen them before. And then Errol blinked and Nick saw something else: the fur on the jackal's eyelids were red while the rest of his face remained yellow-furred. _Was he… wearing a mask?_

"It was a very nice surprise two days ago, when I got a call from my old friend Roger concerning a surprise party," Errol continued, tucking his glasses in his pocket, "And then yesterday morning he introduced me to Officer Hopps and your _very_ charming mother, who were most persuasive. And of course, I always did love wearing disguises."

With that, Errol reached behind himself and grabbed his own tail. Before Nick could react, there was a loud _shrrrip_ sound and the tail came right off in his paw. Nick gaped; the tail had been attached by some kind of velcro.

"Excuse me a moment," said Errol as he reached behind himself again. "Ergh, ugh!" He struggled with something on his behind for a second, and then two things happened: Errol's potbelly disappeared right in front of Nick's eyes, and a long fluffy red and grey tail sprang forth from the hole in the jackal's trousers. "Ahhh, that's better," muttered the 'jackal' as he wagged the tail back and forth a few times, "I was getting rather cramped in there."

Realization started to dawn over Nick as he and everyone else watched 'Errol' reach under the collar of his turtleneck and pull off a realistic furred mask, revealing the face of a red fox in his seventies with greying fur and a charming smile. He looked spry for his age, and even at forty years older and without the iconic bycocket hat he was instantly recognizable. The fox threw out his arms, holding the mask in one paw and the detachable tail in the other, "Happy birthday, son!"

Nick couldn't even try to hide his joy and enthusiasm. _"Brian Bedfurd!"_ he cried as he embraced his childhood hero.

* * *

 **A/N: the Spotwood-Jingle Talent Agency belongs to 1tT4k3sTw0. And I must give kudos to ConfusedGoatee, who predicted the last part as far back as chapter 2. Oh, and I must also credit Cimar, who came up with the concept of detachable tails in the first place. :)  
**


	12. Chapter 7

**A/N: I would like to thank Aninat131, PizzaSteve3902, Cimar of Turalis-WildeHopps, Guest and DrummerMax64 for their reviews of the last chapter. And to Aninat, congratulations on finishing your exams! And I'd like to send a very belated congrats to DrummerMax as well for his own recent graduation.**

* * *

 _ **Mrs. Wilde's apartment:**_

* * *

"You're kidding!" Judy stated.

Brian Bedfurd shook his head. "No, I swear it's true, that really was me you see jumping off the burning tower near the end of the movie and not a stuntmammal."

It was now the evening of Nick's birthday, and the group consisting of Judy, Nick, Mrs. Wilde, Roger Thrash and Brian were now having birthday cake in Mrs. Wilde's apartment after having had dinner at Remy's Restaurant. At the restaurant, Brian and Roger had regaled the party with several stories about the making of the _Robin Hood_ movie. Max and Finnick had also been there, but Max had had to leave for an audition after the meal and Finnick had declined because he claimed not to be a fan of movies.

"But how?" Judy asked, "That turret had to be fifty feet high!"

"Oh, just the magic of movie editing," said Brian, "There are two separate shots done: one of me jumping off the tower, and another of me falling into the moat. For the first one I got on the burning rooftop set, wallowed in the flames for a few seconds (wearing fireproof layers under my costume of course), and jumped off onto an airbag just off-camera. Then for the second one, on a different set, I jumped off a boom lift and fell thirty feet into the water."

"Wow… at least you only had to do that once, right?" said Judy.

Brian shook his head. "Twice," said the fox, holding up two fingers, "On the first take I mistimed the jump, and I fell out of the camera's line of sight and was in the water before the operator could fix it. One more inch and I would have landed on the bank and become a fox pancake."

Then Brian grinned, and turned to Roger. "And speaking of pancakes…" the fox nudged the Torch Key raccoon, "Why don't you tell them about the pancake incident?"

"What inci – oh no, not _that_ one!" protested Roger.

"If you don't tell them about it, I will." Said Brian mischievously.

"Oh come on! Wha' wath it?" Nick asked through a mouthful of Tasmanian Devil's Food cake.

"Only the biggest laugh we had during the whole making of the movie, and that is saying something," said Brian.

"It was _humiliating_ ," grumbled Roger.

"Forty-five years later and you still can't laugh about it?" Brian teased.

" _No."_ stated the raccoon.

"Oh, pretty please tell us?" Mrs. Wilde asked, "For the birthday boy?"

Roger sighed. "Alright, fine," he put down his cake fork and wiped some crumbs off his chin before answering, "It happened one night when we were on location filming the "Phony King of England" number. On the third night of shooting, around 4 AM, the caterers arrived with an early breakfast for us: some nice pancakes."

Roger looked over at Brian, as if silently asking permission to stop right there. Brian gestured him to continue.

"It was a welcome treat," Roger continued, "But I was really hungry, so I snuck an extra plate back onto the set with me and stowed it behind the rock I was sitting on in the scene. You know, where I'm part of the band. Anyway, during the next take, I got so caught up in the music and the foot-stomping that I lost my balance and fell backwards onto the plate of pancakes."

"Oh _no!"_ said Judy.

"Oh yes!" interjected Brian, "He stood up, and the plate was stuck right to his bottom! And we didn't have another pair of trousers for him, so he had to finish the number like that. And by the end of it, he was stuck to the rock and we actually had to _pull_ him off!"

The elderly fox chuckled merrily, "Got a lot of ribbing for that, he did."

Then Brian swallowed his last bite of cake, and put his fork down with satisfaction. "Mmm- _Mm!_ I must say, Mrs. Wilde, that cake was positively scrumptious!"

"Why thank you, it's an old family recipe," said Mrs. Wilde.

"Then my compliments to your old family," replied Brian. He reached over, "May I take your plate?"

"Oh, such a gentlefox!" said Mrs. Wilde, handing him her empty cake plate.

Brian then gathered Roger's Judy's plates (Nick was still eating his second helping of cake), and then moved back his chair and started to stand up–

"Ooh! Ow!" the fox groaned as he straightened up and made his way to the kitchen, limping slightly.

"Something wrong?" Mrs. Wilde asked.

"Oh, nothing, just a little stiff from class is all," said Brian from the kitchen.

After the group had disbanded at the precinct that morning Mrs. Wilde had gone off to teach her morning aerobics class, and Brian had requested to join her, partially to his regret. But afterwards the two foxes had ended up spending the whole day together, and looked distinctly chummy when they met up with Nick and Judy and Roger at Remy's.

"I'm sorry, I guess I did work you a little hard," said Mrs. Wilde, "But I guarantee it will be a lot less painful if you come and try it again."

"I fail to see how that would work…" said Brian as he returned to the table, "But if it would grant me the pleasure of your company, I would gladly come to your class again."

To that, Mrs. Wilde gave a bashful little giggle, and quickly turned her head away. Judy could see a distinct blush form on the inside of Mrs. Wilde's ears.

Judy cleared her throat. "So, Brian," she said, "What have you acted in besides _Robin Hood_? I'm sorry, I don't go to the movies much."

"Oh, a little of everything, really," said Brian with a shrug, "I played supporting roles in a few more movies, I've worked in television, theater, even did an animated movie once. And I've also played roles that involved playing a whole different species, as you saw me do with Errol today."

"And what a performance that was!" said Nick. He gulped down another mouthful of cake, "But I gotta ask – why did you come at all? Do you usually accept invites from strangers who want to meet Robin Hood?"

"I would – if anyone else had ever asked," said Brian with a slight chuckle. And then his expression turned serious. "But actually, there is a reason I would like to tell you about."

The fox folded his paws on the table, and launched into speech: "A year and a half ago, when the Nighthowler conspiracy began and predators started mysteriously disappearing, one of the victims was a good friend of mine."

Brian pulled out his phone, tapped on the screen, and showed the group a picture: it showed Brian in a hospital room, standing next to a male grizzly bear lying upright in the bed wearing a hospital gown. On the other side of the bed holding the bear's paw was a she-bear wearing a polka-dot dress and pearls, who could only be the patient's mate. Both bears and fox looked tired but full of joy.

"His name is Vincent Bruin, and that's his wife, Greta. We've lived near each other in the Rainforest District for nearly twenty years; they run a diner that I frequent. But one evening, when I went over for a visit, I found Greta crying in the living room: Vincent was missing. All the police had found was his cell phone, amidst a bouquet of flowers and a small pile of groceries in an alley; he had just gone shopping…"

The elderly fox sighed, and his paws gripped tightly on his phone, his eyes focused on the picture. "For weeks we waited, praying for any news. I even helped Greta out at the diner as best I could. And then one day we finally heard: Vincent had been found, but had somehow gone savage. We didn't understand what the doctor was saying until we finally saw him in the hospital. Vincent didn't recognize us, not even Greta; he even tried to attack me behind the glass…"

Brian shivered at the memory, and put down his phone. But when he looked up, his expression seemed to brighten a little. "For a long time after we thought we would never have our old Vincent back again, until the story came out: he had been targeted as part of a despicable plot against predators, the cause of his condition was some type of plant, and an antidote was being developed. And there, on the front page, was you two. You saved him. You saved Vincent, and I want to thank you for that."

Nick noticed Brian was looking more in his direction than Judy's. "Aww, as much as I'd like to take credit, that was really all Carrots' doing. I was just along for the ride." He said.

"Judy did tell me you might say that," Brian replied, pointing at said rabbit, "I told her about Vincent yesterday, and she was very emphatic in saying that she could never have done it without you."

He shifted in his seat, focusing on Nick completely. "Nicholas, I've spent a fair amount of time with your mother over the last couple of days, and she has told me some very interesting things about you."

"Um-" Nick gulped, thinking of all kinds of shameful stories his mother could tell, "What kinds of things?"

Brian's expression and tone were both neutral. "She told me when you were young, you looked up to Robin Hood, and wanted to do good for others just like him. But then you had a bad experience that caused you to lose your way, and remained so for quite some time…"

Then Brian placed his paw on Nick's shoulder, smiling in a reassuring, almost fatherly way, "But then you found it again, as I saw you demonstrate when you helped Max this morning. For that, and for your part in saving Vincent and those poor other victims, I have something that I want you to have. A birthday present, if you will."

Then the fox reached down and picked up a large paper bag, placing it on the table before him.

"Now, _Robin Hood_ isn't exactly an all-time classic, but working on it was a very fond time for everyone involved. All of us in the cast became friends, and many of us remained in touch after filming had wrapped. And after filming was done, we were each allowed to keep a souvenir from the experience. Roger kept the lute he played," he gestured at the raccoon next to him, "Phil Bearis kept a bow and arrow set he used in one scene, and Peter Ustignaw kept the crown he wore as Prince John. I kept _this_."

And then from the depths of the bag, he pulled out an old, faded dark yellow bycocket hat with a fraying red feather attached to the brim. He shifted it gingerly, so he was holding it in both paws, and held it out to Nick.

"It is now my wish to pass it on to you."

Nick's eyes widened and his ears shot up in shock. Mrs. Wilde gasped, cupping her paw to her mouth. And via his peripheral vision, Nick could see that both Roger and Judy were just as surprised.

"What – I can't keep this – this is a piece of movie history! It belongs in a museum!" Nick said.

Brian chuckled, "I am afraid this is not Citizen Kang's sled, I doubt any museums are going to be bidding for it after I'm gone."

Nick was dumbstruck. "Are you actually serious? You want _me_ to have the Robin Hood hat?"

"I have no children of my own, Nicholas. Believe me, I can think of nobody better to pass this on to."

"But-" Nick sputtered, "You don't even know me, we just met today!"

"True, but I've learned enough from your mother and Officer Hopps to be sure my decision is a good one."

The reynard gestured his paws at Nick, holding the hat closer, "Here. Take it."

Nick hesitated once more, and then slowly, fingers trembling (both from nerves and the sugar in the cake), he reached out and took the hat. He gently turned it over in his paws, analyzing it: he could make out faded numbers inside, production numbers certifying it as a movie prop. And he could also see a few stray fox hairs stuck inside the brim. This was no replica; it was the real deal. And then, instinctively, he put the hat on his head. It fit like it had been made for him.

Everybody at the table started cheering and clapping. "Now you truly are my little Robin Hood again!" said Mrs. Wilde, dabbing her eyes with her napkin at the sight of her son wearing the actual Robin Hood hat, with the green sweater from Mrs. Otterton that he was wearing completing the ensemble. Nick pulled out his phone and used the camera to check his reflection, smiling toothily at the image before him; rather dashing if he did say so himself.

"I wanna try it on!" said Judy, bouncing up and down in her seat.

Nick complied, took off the hat and plopped it on top of Judy's head: for a couple of seconds it remained in place, perched between Judy's ears, the rabbit beaming. And then her ears were flattened, and the hat fell over her eyes, her smile drooping with it.

Nick smirked, and lifted up the tip of the hat to show the rabbit's face, "Don't worry, you'll grow into it, young lady."

Brian gave a little snort, and then a chuckle, and then he burst out laughing. Then Mrs. Wilde, then Roger, then Judy, and within seconds Nick himself joined in on the merriment around him.

The laughter carried for a few minutes, and when it began to die down, Nick gazed fondly at the mammals sitting at the table with him, connections forming in his mind. His mother and father had seen _Robin Hood_ on their first date many years ago, she had told him that before. If they hadn't seen it together, maybe they never would have gotten together and he, Nick, would never have been born. And after he had seen the movie as a kit, it had inadvertently set him on the path to life as a hustler. But that had led to meeting Judy, which led to helping to save the city and becoming the first fox police officer. And because of that, he had reunited with his mother. And finally, because he had watched the movie with Judy he had had his first ever birthday party, and had even gotten to meet both Brian Bedfurd and Roger Thrash in the bargain. And for a cherry on top, even his mother seemed to have found a new tod in her life because of it.

It was amazing the impact one movie could have.

* * *

 **A/N:** _ **Annnd**_ **scene! I hope you all enjoyed this finale, and this story as a whole. I had a great time giving Nick a birthday he will never forget. Until next time, my friends!**


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